First ladies meet at inter-Korean summit?

North Korean First Lady Ri Sol-ju. Photo: Yonhap

Two former South Korean first ladies, Lee Hee-ho and Kwon Yang-sook, visited Pyongyang with their husbands, Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, during the two inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, although they did not have the opportunity to meet the wife of then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

Kim Ok, the late leader's fourth wife, often accompanied him on trips to China and Russia, but not as his official wife. Therefore, her name was not mentioned in North Korean state media when reporting on the trips.

However, it is possible that Ms. Ri - wife of Mr. Kim Jong-un, in the context of increasing diplomatic presence as first lady in recent months, could accompany her husband on the visit across the border.

Ms Ri stood next to Mr Kim in a surprise diplomatic appearance at a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing last month.

She also accompanied Mr. Kim to a dinner he hosted for the South Korean delegation on March 5. On April 1, she joined Mr. Kim at the first performance in Pyongyang by a South Korean art troupe.

On April 14, North Korean state media officially recognized Ms. Ri as “first lady” when she appeared publicly with her husband for the first time to attend a performance by a Chinese ballet troupe in Pyongyang. Ms. Ri was previously called “comrade”.

Analysts say Ms Ri’s public role is growing as Mr Kim seeks to improve his country’s image. They say Mr Kim could bring his wife to the summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the southern side of the border village of Panmunjom if he sticks to that strategy.
In that case, Ms. Ri could come and sit down with Mr. Moon's wife, Ms. Kim Jung-sook, in what is considered the first meeting of the two Koreas' first ladies.

But even so, Pyongyang is likely to only inform Seoul of Ri's plans to accompany her husband a few hours before the summit, as it usually does./.

Phu Binh