Kim Jong Un’s Wife Goes Missing
Kim Jong Un’s young wife, Ri Sol Ju, has disappeared as mysteriously as she arrived, only ten weeks after she was first unveiled to the public as the North Korean leader’s new bride. Despite becoming a permanent fixture on her husband’s ‘guidance tours’ and at public ceremonies, data from an NK News leadership monitoring tool (to be released next week) shows that Ri Sol Ju has not been seen in public for forty days, and preliminary searches of official North Korean websites and their official YouTube channel confirm this.
According to an unnamed source reported in the South Korean press, her mysterious disappearance could have something to do with the fact that, in recent appearances, she neglected to wear the Kim Il Sung label badge in public, a signal of loyalty to the leadership that all North Koreans are required to wear.
These pictures, compiled by NK News, show the multiple occasions Ri Sol Ju has appeared in public without the important lapel pin. Either replacing it with a broach or without wearing any extra adornments at all, Ri appears confident in appearing without it – a move that may have riled some of the older and more conservative figures within the leadership. Indeed, right now it seems favor still swings the way of the aged generals, with China.org recently reporting that the country’s ruling party veterans had picked up on her lack of dedication to the Kims, saying it was “completely unacceptable, with repercussions to ensue.”
As the First Lady of North Korea, the appearance of any senior leadership figure without the badge is something that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago, with her appearance without the badge threatening the structural integrity of the regime at a symbolic level.
Another theory behind the disappearance suggests that Ri Sol Ju is pregnant. One inside source told the website on 15th of October
“After Ri Sol Ju stopped appearing on Chosun Central TV and in the Rodong Shinmun, where she had been appearing quite regularly up to then, the rumor that it is because she is pregnant started to spread really fast. Sharp-eyed women had been mentioning a possible pregnancy every time she appeared on Chosun Central TV anyway, but in particular when they saw her visiting Changjeon Street homes in September they said ‘The Marshal’s wife seems to be pregnant with their second child”
But faced with a multitude of possibilities, world media interest in her may also have meant that of late Pyongyang has become worried that they’re presenting too soft an image. If true, this could explain her disappearance from the public view.
