© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Kim Jong Un Has Married That Mystery Woman, North Korean TV Says

In this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed in Tokyo by the Korea News Service on Monday, July 9, 2012, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, and a woman clap with others on Friday as they watch a performance by North Korea's new Moranbong band in Pyongyang. Now it appears they have gotten married.
AP

Closing the loop — almost — on our reports about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the "mystery woman" who has been seen with him in recent weeks:

"North Korean media on Wednesday identified the woman seen accompanying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in a recent series of public appearances as his wife," South Korea's Yonhap News reports.

From Tokyo, ABC News' Akiko Fujita says that Japan's Yomiyuri Online is reporting that "Kim Jong Un and new wife may already have a daughter, born in 2010."

Our earlier posts about this so-so important news and the mystery woman, who was said to be former North Korean pop star Hyon Song-wol:

-- 'Mystery Woman' And Disney Ripoffs: Latest News About North Korea's Leader.

-- Is Kim Jong Un's Mystery Woman The 'Excellent Horse-Like Lady'?

Now, though, the leader's wife has been named by North Korean media to be "comrade Ri Sol Ju." Of course, that doesn't rule out the possibility that Ri Sol Ju and Hyon Song-wol are the same person.

So, perhaps, some of the mystery continues.

Update at 8:50 a.m. ET. A Different Singer?

Business Insider says there is a Ri Sol Ju who is also a prominent singer in North Korea. And it has posted video of what it says is her performing Footsteps Of Soldiers. See if you think she's the mystery woman. Voice of America's Steve Herman thinks she is.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
KCUR serves the Kansas City region with breaking news and award-winning podcasts.
Your donation helps keep nonprofit journalism free and available for everyone.