Seoul, June 26 (EFE).- The wife of Kim Jong-un has reappeared in public after a year and a half, accompanying the North Korean leader at the inauguration of a tourist resort area in Kalma region on the country’s east coast.
Photographs of the event, published on Thursday by the North Korean state news agency KCNA, show Ri Sol-ju standing and sitting near her husband and their daughter, believed to be named Ju-ae, at the event held on Wednesday.
Ri, dressed in a white shirt, black dress trousers and what appears to be a Gucci bag, contrasts with the more formal white blazer and skirt worn by their daughter, who is speculated to be the heir apparent to the regime.
The export of luxury goods to North Korea is prohibited under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718, which imposes sanctions on the Asian country for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. However, the country is known to use diplomatic pouches, exempt from customs and inspections, to bring in such items given as gifts to the president’s family.
This is Ri’s first public appearance since New Year’s Day 2024, when state media showed her attending an art performance.
During her absence, her daughter has taken center stage alongside Kim during important events, which the president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, Yang Moo-jin, believes may be a strategy to divert attention to the young woman, according to comments to Yonhap news agency.
Unlike the wives of the two previous North Korean leaders, who remained behind the scenes, Ri had frequently appeared in public with Kim since he took power in 2011.
International tourism appeal
The event was the completion ceremony for the mega beach resort the regime had been working on in the eastern coastal region of Kalma, which Kim has hailed as one of the country’s greatest achievements this year, according to KCNA.
KCNA reports the resort can accommodate 20,000 guests and features facilities for swimming, sports and recreational activities, as well as retail and catering services.
The Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area should play “a leading role in establishing the tourist culture” of the country, Kim said during a speech at the event, according to KCNA, adding that the marshal ordered operators to provide “the best convenience and leisure space” for tourists.
Kim described the Kalma resort as the first step in the development of cultural tourism in the country and stated that the upcoming Workers’ Party Congress, the date of which is yet to be announced, will confirm a major plan to develop new large-scale tourism areas in other regions.
The Russian ambassador to North Korea and members of the embassy were invited to the ceremony, indicating that Russians are expected to be among the foreign tourists staying in the area.
The resort will open on July 1, leading the country to announce further easing of its borders after years of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. EFE
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