VARIOUS: South Korean media says North Korean leaders wife was a professional singer

Record ID: 376732

  • Title: VARIOUS: South Korean media says North Korean leaders wife was a professional singer
  • Date: 26th July 2012
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) 22-YEAR-OLD LEE HO-SEON SAYING: "I checked it on the internet. She looked a little chubby in the past and now she looks slender. I read some information saying that their names are different in Chinese characters." VARIOUS OF BAEK SEUNG-JOON AT INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) BAEK SEUNG-JOO, SENIOR RESEARCHER IN CENTER FOR SECURITY AND SAFETY AT THE KO
  • Embargoed: 10th August 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
  • Country: Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
  • Topics: Politics,People
  • Reuters ID: LVAUQ0MV38O6CLXVITM4GCPLT8Q
  • Story Text: South Korean media said on Thursday (July 26) that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's wife was a professional singer.
    North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is married, state media said on Wednesday (July 25), putting an end to speculation over his relationship with a woman seen at his side recently.
    North Korea's state-run television KRT named her as Ri Sol-ju, but provided no other details.
    On Thursday, North Korea's KRT released video of Kim and Ri touring newly opened Rungna People's Amusement Park on Wednesday (July 25).
    File footage from KRT which was also posted on Youtube, shows a fairly strong resemblance to the First Lady -- with the same Korean name.
    South Korean netizens as well as local media found KRT video of a woman named Ri Sol-ju singing at North Korean concerts.
    Netizens at a Seoul Internet cafesaid the woman singing, and the North Korean leader's new wife, were one and the same.
    "I saw it at the top news. I think they are the same person. I heard she was a singer and she was working with a band. I think they are the same person," said 39-year-old Lee Jeong-hoon.
    Some Seoul residents disagreed.
    "I checked it on the internet. She looked a little chubby in the past and now she looks slender. I read some information saying that their names are different in Chinese characters," said 22-year-old Lee Ho-seon.
    KRT footage and KCNA news showed different Chinese characters identifying Kim's wife.
    But many North Korean experts and photographers in Seoul said they are the same person.
    "North Korea did not say it, but an analysis by many experts on photographs concluded that they are the same person," said Baek Seung-joo, Senior Researcher in Center for Security and Safety at the Korea Institute for Defence Analyses.
    A plastic surgeon said they are the same person, even though the recent pictures show her neck and jaw lines looking more slender.
    "If we compare video and photos of the past and nowadays, the ears, eyes, mouths and noses are quite similar. Her neckline and jawline look more slender than in the past with the sharper V-line (jawline), probably due to a loss of weight. But judging from the whole image and other images, I am almost certain that they are the same," said plastic surgeon Kim Jae-won.
    Recent footage showed Kim and Ri sitting closely and clapping while watching a performance featuring western show tunes and Mickey Mouse.
    Kim Jong-un's mother Ko Young-hui was a Japanese-born professional dancer.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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