hankyoreh

September 5

By Kim Kyu-won, staff reporter and Kim Young-hwan, Incheon correspondent

Ri Sol-ju, the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, visited South Korea in September 2005 and had a child with Kim following their 2009 marriage, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported.

Ri was also confirmed to have sung at a New Year’s recital in February 2011, an unusual occurrence for the wife of a North Korean leader.

Speaking before the National Assembly Intelligence Committee on July 26, NIS chief Won Sei-hoon said Ri came to South Korea in 2005 as part of a student group attending the Asian Athletics Championships in Incheon, reported the New Frontier Party’s representative on the committee, lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun.

The city of Incheon confirmed that Ri came as part of the 124-member group to support North Korean athletes and gave three performances.

Pamphlets showed that Ri performed songs such as “Kkotnori (Flower Viewing),” “Nae Nara Jeillo Joa (My Country Is the Best),” and “Daedonggang Silbeodul (Daedong River Weeping Willow)” with another singer.

The Unification Ministry also reported the case of a student named Ri Sol-ju having attended an inter-Korean youth tree-planting event at Mt. Kumgang in 2003. Documentation of the event features a young girl, 11 years old at the time, who wore a blue, Western-style outfit with a red scarf. The Unification Ministry says it has not confirmed whether the young woman was in fact Ri.

Won also reported that Ri was born in 1989, married Kim in 2009, and had a child with him. The child’s gender remains unknown, Yoon said.

Despite her humble family background, Ri attended Kumsong No. 2 Middle School in Pyongyang, the country’s most elite arts middle school. She was also confirmed to have studied vocal performance in China. The NIS said she had been a singer with the Unhasu Orchestra and attended a Lunar New Year performance in February 2011.

Most of the members of the student group that visited Incheon in 2005 were reportedly from the “Kumsong Academy,” which is believed to be Kumsong No. 2 Middle School.

“We believe Kim Jong-un presented his wife in public because he wanted to give evidence of his regime’s stability,” Won was reported as saying.

The NIS also reported Kim’s birth date as Jan. 8, 1984. His age has been a matter of some debate.

Analysts said it was difficult to understand how Ri could have continued to perform as a singer after marrying Kim Jong-un in 2009 and having a child with him. Wives of past North Korean leaders rarely appeared in public.

An official with the Unification Ministry said that if Kim’s wife was the same Ri Sol-ju who performed at the Lunar New Year recital, it would make more sense for them to have had married after that.

Sejong Institute senior researcher Jung Sung-jang insisted they were different people. As evidence, he noted that different Chinese characters were used to write the “Ju” portion of Ri Sol-ju’s name in the KCNA report and references to the singer.

Jung added that Kim’s wife was believed to be from Chongjin, North Hamgyeong province and have graduated from Kim Il-sung University graduate in the natural sciences from.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]