SEOUL (NORTH KOREA) – For the first time in more than a year, the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Ri Sol Ju, made an appearance on state television on Wednesday, joining her husband at a concert on one of the biggest national holidays.
Photos showing the power couple were released by the official ruling Worker’s Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun at the event held to mark the birthday of Kim’s late father and former leader Kim Jong Il.
Though she had accompanied Kim to major events, Ri was not to be seen since January last year, stoking concerns about her health and potential pregnancy.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers on Tuesday that Kim’s wife appeared to have refrained from all outdoor activities as a precaution against the novel coronavirus but was “playing well with their kids.”
According to NIS, the duo has three children although very little is know about them.
The power couple smiled as they watched the concert at Mansudae Art Theatre in Pyongyang. However, nobody appeared to wear face coverings in the event.
The report also mentioned that the leader went to Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, which houses the embalmed bodies of his father and grandfather, to lay floral wreaths on the Day of the Shining Star.