"Comrade" Ri Sol-ju dropped out of sight after a busy summer travelling around the country with her dictator husband. Recently, she reappeared at a football match, but nothing is known about why she dropped out of sight. Some observers suggest three possible reasons for her absence: pregnancy, divorce or "re-education".

Seoul (AsiaNews) - Comrade Ri Sol-ju, the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has re-appeared after dropping out of the public eye for 50 days. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a picture of her and her husband at a football match in Pyongyang.

"Marshall Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of the party and the people, came to the spectators' seats, accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju. At that moment, thunderous applause broke out," KCNA reported.

However, nothing was said about her absence after a high-profile summer during which she was seen with her husband.

South Korean sources suggest that her absence might have been due to three possible causes: pregnancy, sudden divorce like Kim's father and grandfather or "re-education" after she was seen with expensive clothes and accessories.

According to South Korean intelligence reports, the couple was married in 2009 and already has one child. Given Stalinist North Korea's paranoia about secrecy, the information could not be verified.

 

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• korea
• wife
• reappearance
• disappearance