So many questions come to mind when the name Ri Sol-Ju is mentioned. She is the wife of Kim Jong Un – the controversial Supreme Leader of North Korea. Everything that has been collected about the august first lady has mostly come from abroad as her life is kept secret from her date of birth to her real name to her marriage and the children she gave birth to.
The secrecy regarding information concerning her may be the result of her lifestyle as North Korean first lady. This article will attempt to unravel most of them and shed light on everything about the North Korean First Lady.
Ri Sol-Ju – Organic
A look into the biography of this almost anonymous woman would definitely start from her name. However, there is also some controversy surrounding her real name. Some sources have speculated that her real name is Lee Seol-Ju, which has cast doubt on the authenticity of her celebrated name Ri Sol-Ju over time. There is also no reliable information pointing to her exact date of birth, although it has been speculated that she was born between 1985 and 1989 – a fact that has yet to be addressed by the North Korean government.
From the little bullets we have on her, she was born to a professor and a mother who heads a department of gynecology. She is also said to be a close relative of Ri Pyong-Chol, a former Air Force general who also serves as Kim Jong-un’s close advisor. Regarding her education, she is said to have attended Geumsung 2 Middle School in Pyongyang before going to China to further her education with a music focus. She also has a master’s degree in science and a doctorate, all from Kim Il-Sung University.
Ri Sol-Ju started out as a performing musician and a member of the North Korean group known as the Unhasu Orchestra. Additional information leads us to believe that she was a cheerleader and was part of the North Korean team that competed in the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships, although there is no discernible proof of this.
Everything you should know about Kim Jong Un’s wife
1. Wedding Details
An important event in the life of every woman is the daythey get married, which is usually associated with glamor and many preparations that are captured in photos or videos, depending on the case. Well, unlike most women, Ri Sol-Ju’s marriage to North Korea’s supreme leader is virtually non-existent and if records of the date and location of the ceremony exist, they are well hidden in the archives.
One fact we might want to consider, however, is a statement from a print outlet that Kim Jong-il, the late father of Kim Jong-un, who was the former supreme leader of North Korea, arranged a marriage shortly after his stroke in 2008 by then she may have married Kim Jong Un in 2009.
However, she made her first public appearance with her husband in July 2012 at an event, which raised a number of questions about her identity and, as a result, prompted a press release from the North Korean authority naming her as their leader’s wife.
2. Children and Maternity
The first lady is reported to a mother of three children. Their first child, speculated to be a boy, was born in 2010. The birth of a child was revealed by former NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman, who visited Kim Jong-Un in North Korea in March 2013. Rodman revealed that Ri Sol-Ju gave birth to a daughter named Ju-Ae.
His stories were later corroborated by a Southerner, while a Korean government source said the child was born sometime in 2012. The same year marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founder Kim Il-Sung in North Korea. Ri Sol-Ju reportedly gave birth to her third child in 2017, but the child’s gender and date of birth are unknown.
3rd elevated title
According to the North Korean state media statement, the statement that cleared the air about Ri Sol-Ju’s identity on July 25, 2012 gave the North Korean first lady’s name as Comrade Ri Sol-Ju. However, six years later, precisely in April 2018, her name was prefixed with “Respected First Lady,” which is how she is meant to be addressed. This is the first time since 1974 that the title, previously bestowed on Kim Song-Ae, Kim ll Sung’s third wife, has been used by another first lady in North Korea.
4. Limited Public Appearances
Ri Sol-Ju has been conspicuously absent from public gatherings where she would normally perform (this was observed in 2015, 2016 and 2017). No real cause has been attributed to this incident, but it is speculated that it will not be intrinsically linked to the power play between Kim and the North Korean state. However, a recent video released by China Central TV on March 28, 2018, showing Ri Sol-Ju’s visit to China with her husband, did a good job of convincing the public that she is still alive.
5. She has a charming effect
Kenji Fujimoto, a former Kim Jong-il personal sushi chef, said that he met Ri Sol-Ju on a trip to North Korea and he confirmed that the first lady is charming with a surprisingly soft voice. On the same trip, Ri Sol-Ju reportedly gave Fujimoto a designer handbag as a gift.