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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s wife made her first appearance in more than a year on Tuesday after she withdrew from the public eye throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Ri Sol-ju was pictured with her husband at a concert to mark the birthday of Mr Kim’s late father and the country’s former leader Kim Jong-il, known as the Day of the Shining Star in North Korea.
She made the comeback amid growing intrigue among international media over her disappearance, with speculation rife about her wellbeing and some suggesting she may have been pregnant.
Observers had been used to seeing the first lady of North Korea accompanying Mr Kim at major events like missile test launches, festivals and talks with international leaders.
But she had not been seen in public since January 2020, when she attended a Lunar New Year event.
The couple was pictured smiling and laughing without face masks – like everyone else at Tuesday’s event in the Mansudae Art Theatre in Pyongyang.
According to the Korean Central News Agency, the two were welcomed with thunderous cheers and music at the concert hall, and their photographs from the event were splashed on the front pages of state-run newspapers.
Earlier in the day, Mr Kim visited the Kumusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of his father and grandfather are buried.
North Korea is one of the only countries in the world not to have declared a single coronavirus infection, though this has been met with scepticism by experts. South Korean intelligence agencies have said an outbreak in North Korea cannot be ruled out, given the country had active exchanges with China before their long land border was closed early on in the pandemic.
South Korea had previously said it believed Ms Ri was keeping a low profile due to concerns over the Covid-19 outbreak. North Korea had not given any explanation for her absence.
Mystery still surrounds the North Korean leader’s dynasty – control of the country has been passed down through the Kim family since it was founded by Kim Il-sung in 1948. Ms Ri is believed to be 31 years old and mother to three of Kim Jong-un’s children, although the hermit kingdom’s secretive government has not confirmed that information.
Her marriage to Mr Kim was only revealed in 2012 in state media, three years after they are understood to have wed.
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