Kim Jong-Un Heir Born? Ri Sol-Ju, Wife Of North Korean Leader, Could Have Given Birth

Ri Sol-ju, the wife of the reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, appears to have lost the baby bump spotted by Asia Pacific media outlets last fall. Two South Korean news outlets raised the question of whether Ri has since given birth, in recent newspaper editions.

Mrs. Kim was seen to be heavily pregnant in photos released by the Korean Central News Agency last December, when she attended the funeral of her husband’s father, Kim Jong-il. Photos later surfaced showing Ri wearing a tight-fitting skirt suit with no pregnant belly when she celebrated the New Year with her husband.

Furthermore, birth rumors surrounding the North Korea’s first lady were fueled by a recent all-female official performance of the song, “When A Child Is Born.” Dong-A Ilbo, the South Korean daily newspaper, posed the question, “The bulging stomach has gone down ... has Ri Sol-ju given birth?”

The South Korean outlet, Chosun Ilbo, ran before and after photos of the first lady with the photo caption that read, “Ri Sol-ju with her tummy reduced in 11 days. Has she come out right after childbirth?”

Ri made her first 2015 public appearance in April, during official events to mark the birthday of Kim Il-Sung, the country’s founding leader. Mrs. Kim was seen with her husband wearing a wedding ring on her left hand, according to a Agence France-Presse report.

Kim and his wife were also spotted together at men’s soccer match at Kim Il-sung Stadium, also part of the 103rd birthday of the North Korean leader’s grandfather. Before April, Ri last seen in public in December 2014, when she attended a ceremony to commemorate the third death anniversary of her father-in-law.

The Kims’ marriage came to light after reports surfaced in July 2012 about a woman, presumably Ri, accompanying the Kim Jong-un at official events. Born around the year 1984, Ri was reported as a native of the North Korean city of Chongjin, near the Chinese border. The state news agency said she comes from a distinguish, well-off North Korean family.