North Korea's First Lady Disappears for 7 Months

North Korea's first lady, Ri Sol-ju, has not appeared in public or in the North Korean press for the past seven months, sparking rumors that she may be pregnant or facing discord.

Ri Sol-ju appears in public much more than in the past.

UPI news agency, citing the South Korean Unification Ministry, said that Ms. Ri has been missing since late March 2016. The last time she appeared in public was when she and her husband, leader Kim Jong-un, visited a newly opened shopping center in Pyongyang.

Statistics from the South Korean government show that since the beginning of the year, Mr. Kim has appeared in public about 100 times. Ms. Ri has only been with him three times. Specifically, on February 15, she and her husband attended an award ceremony and a banquet with scientists after the launch of the Kwangmyongsong-4 earth observation satellite. On February 17, she visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun and on March 28, she visited the Pyongyang Trade Center.

In her appearance in March, Ms. Ri wore a stylish blue dress and visited stalls selling cosmetics, household appliances and food.

Ms. Ri often accompanies her husband on visits to civilian facilities, but has never appeared when Mr. Kim inspects military facilities or supervises missile launches.

For 7 months, Ms. Ri Sol-ju has not appeared in public or in the North Korean press.

But in recent events such as when Mr. Kim visited a soap factory, opened an eye hospital or visited a souvenir factory, Ms. Ri's absence raised many questions.

News 1 (South Korea) reported that public opinion speculated that Ms. Ri was pregnant, not with her first child but with her second. Another opinion said that she was facing unpleasant conflicts in her life so she went into "reclusion".

Meanwhile, South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted a North Korea observer as saying that Ms. Kim's absence could be due to obstruction from her sister-in-law, Ms. Kim Yo-jong.

In the past, Ms. Ri appeared in public more often. In 2012, she appeared 18 times, in 2013 she appeared 22 times, in 2014 she appeared 15 times and in 2015, that number was 7 times.

South Korean media have reported many times that the North Korean public does not have much sympathy for their first lady because of her luxurious dress and use of branded goods while the majority of the population is poor and does not even have enough to eat.

According to motthegioi.vn