North Korean first lady's absence from public eye not unusual: NIS report
Published: 25 Feb. 2025, 16:38
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- LIM JEONG-WON
- [email protected]
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center right, waves as he is accompanied by wife Ri Sol-ju, far left, and daughter Kim Ju-ae, center left, at the New Year’s celebration performance last January at Pyongyang's May Day Stadium. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/25/ddbd22c6-28a0-49d8-a7ee-77ab7acf7231.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center right, waves as he is accompanied by wife Ri Sol-ju, far left, and daughter Kim Ju-ae, center left, at the New Year’s celebration performance last January at Pyongyang's May Day Stadium. [NEWS1]
Ri Sol-ju, wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has been absent from public view for nearly a year and two months, but South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) has stated that there are no unusual signs in her personal life on Monday.
The NIS reported that Ri has no health issues or change in status, leading to speculation that her absence from public appearances is ultimately part of Kim’s efforts to put the spotlight on and promote their daughter, Kim Ju-ae.
The NIS said in a response to a question by the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, on Monday that “there have been no unusual signs in Ri’s personal life so far.”
Ri’s was last seen in public watching the New Year’s celebration performance held last year at Pyongyang's May Day Stadium accompanied by Kim Jong-un, according to the Ministry of Unification.
If the NIS analysis is correct, it indicates that North Korean authorities may be deliberately concealing Ri rather than her not being able to come out for other reasons.
A North Korean source familiar with the matter told the JoongAng Ilbo on Monday that the reason for Ri’s disappearance was “not due to pregnancy or childbirth,” and that “Kim Ju-ae has a younger brother.”
Since Ri has reportedly given birth to another son who is a candidate for the fourth generation succession of North Korea, and as Kim Jong-un allegedly has a severe inferiority complex over the fact that his mother was not the legitimate wife of his father, Kim Jong-il, it is unlikely that Ri’s status will be shaken.
Supports this analysis are the facts that Ri has accompanied Kim Jong-un since the beginning of his rule to various summits and other public events and that state-run media has portrayed her as paying particular attention to their daughter, Kim Ju-ae.
Experts analyze that the suspiciously long suspension of Ri’s public activities is likely due to efforts to keep the spotlight on her daughter, Kim Ju-ae. Even at Ri’s last public appearance, it was her daughter who entered the event arm-in-arm with Kim Jong-un and remained at his side throughout the event.
“North Korea is portraying Kim Ju-ae as someone who is effectively acting as the first lady," said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies. "If she appeared with her mother, Ri, not only would her similar appearance distract attention, but her image as a young daughter would be more prominent."
In particular, for Kim Jong-un, who wants to be recognized as holding power equal to or surpassing that of his predecessors — his grandfather Kim Il Sung and his father Kim Jong-il — his daughter Kim Ju-ae is a useful propaganda tool. While highlighting the image of a benevolent father to the people, she can also send a message that she promises stability and prosperity to future generations.
Some say that North Korean authorities are actively utilizing Kim Ju-ae's unblemished image to offset that of her father, who is known to have a rough and sullen personality.
“They are strategically using Kim Ju-ae to break away from the image of Kim Jong-un as a young general during the successor era and imprint the image of him as a father of the nation on the people," said Oh Gyeong-seob, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification. He added that some analyze that Kim's daughter is actively participating in public activities in order to support her father's public image.
Ri was born in Chongjin, North Hamgyong Province, and graduated from Pyongyang Geumseong Second High School, known as North Korea's art school.
In September 2005, Ri visited South Korea as a member of the North Korean cheering squad for the 16th Asian Athletics Championships held in Incheon. She is believed to have married Kim Jong-un in 2009, and her presence was first revealed to the public in July 2012 when she accompanied her husband on a field inspection of the Nungna People's Ground in Pyongyang.
Meanwhile, North Korea threatened on Monday to take "resolute" action after a South Korea-led monitoring group implementing UN sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs has launched official activities.
“The DPRK will never thirst for a lifting of sanctions but will never overlook the provocations of the U.S. and its followers to encroach upon the legitimate sovereignty of the DPRK under the pretext of implementing sanctions and strongly counter them with resolute actions,” said the chief of the external policy office at North Korea's Foreign Ministry.
In relation to this, an official at Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said "it is self-contradictory and absurd for North Korea, which continues to violate international law without hesitation, including the UN Security Council's North Korea sanctions resolutions, to claim that the voluntary efforts of member states to faithfully implement UN Security Council resolutions are illegal and unlawful."
BY CHUNG YEONG-GYO, LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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