A recently disclosed video featuring an
individual with the same name as Kim Jong Eun’s wife, Ri Sol Ju, has garnered a great deal of public attention.
On December 1st, the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North publication operating under the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, uploaded
the 5th episode of its web series,“Popular Ladies.” The video, filmed in
August, depicts a person named Kim Seol Mi from the Pyongyang area, and her co-worker, Ri Sol Ju, being interviewed at a national youth
science and technology exhibition in Pyongyang.
“Comrade Seol Mi sings well, plays
instruments well, and is extremely popular in our region,” Ri Sol Ju stated in
the interview.
As she spoke, Choson Sinbo explicitly wrote in the
subtitles, “Pyongyang staff member, Ri Sol Ju,” which drew attention after comments made by a North Korean defector-run group based in South Korea last month that “all [other] females named Ri Sol Ju have been exiled from Pyongyang.”
While this assertion has not been confirmed, the recently released video by the
pro-North group is perceived as an attempt to refute it.
