Ri Sol Ju, the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong Eun, has not made any public appearances for 48 days, since it was reported that she attended a concert performed by a Russian orchestra in Pyongyang on October 16th.
That appearance was 24 days after a sex scandal indirectly implicating her broke in September. A Japanese daily reported that nine performers from both Unhasu and Wangjaesan art troupes had been publicly executed for their roles in sexually explicit videos.
Ri’s extended non-appearance since mid-October only raises the tenor of the rumor that she was personally involved in the video scandal. However, the October appearance ameliorates those claims.
In general, Ri appears mostly at cultural events such as concerts and sports contests. Thus, a paucity of such events has been put forward as a valid reason for her radio silence. She attended a number of memorial events last December to mark the first anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death and it may be that she will reappear in the coming days, as North Korea gears up for the second anniversary.
Professor Kim Young Soo of Sogang told Daily NK that Ri is a source of interest for the community of Korea watchers, but ultimately something of a sideshow. “It is impossible to say that the appearance or not of Ri Sol Ju is a particularly important trend,” he said. “Rather than an important state of affairs, her absence could be attributed to the fact that North Korea is closing its accounts for the year, so there is nothing worthy of her attendance.”
“It is also very possible that Ri has appeared at official events but the North Korean media has not covered these,” Professor Kim added. “She is likely to turn up if an opening ceremony for the Masikryeong Ski Resort goes ahead on December 31st.”
Elsewhere, a Ministry of Unification official avoided taking a stand, explaining, “We are looking into the fact that the North Korean media has not been covering news of Ri Sol Ju since October. As it stands there is no special trend here, but we are paying it close attention as it gets closer to 50 days.”
