New role for wife of North Korea's Kim: First lady
时间:2024-09-23 04:30:35 来源:玉林新闻
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju / AFP |
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has given his young, stylish wife the title of first lady in what analysts say is a major boost to her status ahead of back-to-back summits with South Korea and the United States.
Ri Sol-ju has often accompanied Kim to official events but made her first solo public appearance last weekend at a ballet performance by a visiting Chinese troupe.
The North's state media reported the outing referring to her as the "respected first lady" -- the first time the title has been used in more than 40 years, and with the addition of an adjective usually reserved for the country's leaders.
North Korea's elderly star anchorwoman Ri Chun-hee -- who is often drafted in for major announcements -- delivered the news of her attendance on television, further enhancing Ri's standing.
Dressed in a dusty pink two-piece skirt suit, Ri was accompanied by senior North Korean officials often seen with the leader, including Kim's younger sister, Yo-jong.
Ri, a former star singer, emerged in 2012 and has been regarded as one of the most high-profile women in the isolated, deeply patriarchal nation, but with a limited role as Kim's stylish, coy wife.
Analysts say her promotion is likely to be part of an effort to paint North Korea as a "normal state" as it prepares for summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in next Friday and later with US President Donald Trump.
It also gives her a title matching that of their wives Kim Jung-sook and Melania.
"Promoting Ri Sol Ju is the most effective marketing strategy," An Chan-il, a defector researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, told AFP.
"The summit is being held as equals, so if Melania Trump attends, Ri will attend," he said, noting that the North Korean leader's wife accompanied him when he went to Beijing last month on his first overseas trip since inheriting power.
Mother's trauma
Ri was previously referred to as "comrade" by the North's state media, and the weekend report was the first time the "first lady" title had been used to describe the leader's spouse since 1974, when it was applied to Kim Song-ae, the second wife of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung.
Little is known about Ri, who is believed to be 29 and to have three children with Kim, at least one of them a daughter.
South Korean intelligence reports have described her as coming from an ordinary family with a teacher father and a doctor mother.
A former member of the North's Unhasu Orchestra, Ri reportedly attended a music school in China and visited South Korea in 2005 as a cheerleader for her country's squad in an international sporting event.
She is known to be a fashion aficionado and is often pictured wearing luxury outfits -- on one occasion carrying what appeared to be a Christian Dior handbag -- in a country plagued by chronic poverty.
Some analysts point to Kim's marginalised mother Ko Yong-hui as another factor driving Ri's expanded role.
Ko, an ethnic Korean from Japan, had three children with Kim's father and predecessor Kim Jong Il, but had a low profile throughout her 28-year marriage.
She died in 2004, reportedly from breast cancer, and her body is said to have been secretly flown from Paris, where she was being treated, to Pyongyang.
A grave was only built for her in 2012, after Kim inherited power.
"I think Kim Jong Un's trauma of watching his own mother living in the shadows also factored in," said Shin Beom-chul, an analyst at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.
"Growing up watching his mother could have motivated him to elevate the status of his wife."
Olympic envoy
Unlike his father and grandfather, Kim is often seen accompanied by the women in his life -- namely Ri and Yo-jong -- in a break from the past when leaders' spouses or sisters rarely made public appearances.
Kim sent his younger sister to the Winter Games in the South on a diplomatic charm offensive.
His late father was known to be blunt and secretive, but the younger Kim -- whose regime stands accused of widespread human rights violations by critics -- has cultivated an outgoing and informal style, and his marriage also appears to be different.
According to the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun, Ri referred to the North Korean leader as "my husband" in a meeting with the South's officials in Pyongyang, and giggled and clapped when one of them suggested that Kim quit smoking. (AFP)
-
[From the Scene] How ‘world’s first oil town’ is wrestling to become ‘green'US intensifying 'every leg of nuclear triad' to ensure deterrence: Gen. CottonObama’s Laos visit is pretty awkwardly timed for HillaryKevin Hart is your 2019 Oscars host阳江村K开麦,阳西3人晋级!In letter to quakeThe internet unleashes Photoshop on Donald Trump Jr.'s brand new tS. Korea seeks to block N. Korea from acquiring satellite海丰芥蓝入选全国名特优新农产品名录58 countries restrict entry from coronavirus
相关内容
- ·Carbon neutrality law violates basic rights: Constitutional Court
- ·Liverpool celebrate long
- ·Pope Francis declares Mother Teresa a saint.
- ·Skier eats it going off a jump and flips 7 times before stopping
- ·Webb telescope discovers 6 rogue worlds. They didn't form the way you'd expect.
- ·Tim Cook promises a new Mac mini will come some day
- ·市慈善总会传递社会爱心 看望慰问267户特困群众
- ·Tom Cruise breaks silence on the 'soap opera effect' and we couldn't be happier
- ·尝“鲜”盛宴,等你来探!2024年清远西牛麻竹笋尝鲜季即将启幕
- ·Skier eats it going off a jump and flips 7 times before stopping
- ·Liverpool celebrate long
- ·White nationalist caught assaulting protester on viral video blames President Trump in court
- ·Supercritical geothermal power: Limitless promise or impossible dream?
- ·Bernie Sanders standing in a huge tub of Ben & Jerry's was just asking for memes
- ·US unveils national strategy to counter cybercrimes by N. Korea, others
- ·现场|“好想上去唱一首!”连州菜心“品牌之夜”潮fun嗨整晚
最新内容
- ·The Future of Tech: The Desktop PC
- ·Drama in store on Premier League's final day
- ·Tom Cruise breaks silence on the 'soap opera effect' and we couldn't be happier
- ·O'Sullivan should withdraw from World Championship, says Judd Trump
- ·How to unblock Xnxx for free
- ·The enormous problem with 'Red Dead Redemption 2'
- ·US takes N. Korea as serious as all other challenges: State Dept.
- ·Kevin Hart is your 2019 Oscars host
- ·Best smart home deal: The Amazon Smart Thermostat is just $63.99
- ·Donald Trump Detroit remarks: "We must reduce, rather than highlight, issues of race."
推荐内容
热点内容
- ·Wordle today: The answer and hints for August 29
- ·A new 'Call Me By Your Name' book is currently in the works and OMG
- ·雅西高速石棉至彝海路段解除管制恢复通行
- ·UEFA confident positive Covid
- ·Tesla's big software update includes something called 'Night Curfew'
- ·How to protect yourself from the KRACK Wi
- ·US intensifying 'every leg of nuclear triad' to ensure deterrence: Gen. Cotton
- ·肖德琴:智慧化既是痛点难点,也是养猪4.0时代新样貌
- ·Pope says England are not 'one
- ·NK approves war deterrent steps against Seoul