Where is the wife of Kim Jong-Un’s, Ri Sol-ju?
Where is Kim Jong-Un’s wife, Ri Sol-ju?
Why has caused her disappearance from the public eye over the last year?
Very little is known about the family of Kim Jong-Un, but we do know he has a wife and three children.
His wife, usually by his side, has been noticeably absent from the public eye for nearly a year. Could the reason for her disappearance be something more than some sudden desire for privacy?
While rumors or even conjecture are no substitute reliable fact-checked news sources, in the case of North Korea, it is often all the international media has to go on.
Shall we explore the rumors?
Ri had last been seen in January 2020 for the Lunar New Year holiday and had just resurfaced in the media on February 17th of 2021.
Speculation in her long “sabbatical” had been rampant.
The first supposition was that she simply refrained from outdoor activities due to the coronavirus or simply in residence with their children.
While an otherwise reasonable hypothesis, to be invisible in the North Korean media for over a year, in addition to the DPRK’s assertions that it had no cases of the virus makes this theory questionable.
Is North Korea really free from Covid 19?
A second wave of rumors spread that she was in poor health, or or possibly pregnant!
Though this theory is more likely, especially if she was pregnant and trying to avoid getting the virus.
A final rumor is that she might have been forcibly removed from the public eye or potentially already executed.
Since Ri’s first public appearance in 2012, she has gained respect as the first lady of North Korea.
In fact, in 2018 she was even allowed to meet a Chinese delegation without Kim, and many thought she was rising to further prominence in the state.
Was she was rising to far in prominence?
With that level of power, it’s reasonable to assume that Kim didn’t want it to spiral out of his control (at which point political executions become a real possibility), so he forced her out of the public eye for a year.
If there becomes a symbol of modernity or change, like a woman being respected in politics, the best way to prevent an uprising or revolution is to take away that symbol from the public.
Nonetheless, Ri is safely back and being seen out and about again, and the media is eager to know where she has been for all this time, something the public may never figure out.