North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s wife, Ri Sol Ju, appeared in state media for the first time in more than a year on Wednesday, joining her husband at a concert on one of the country’s biggest holidays.
Official Workers Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun released photos of the pair at the event to mark the birthday of Kim’s late father and former leader Kim Jong Il.
Ri often accompanied Kim to major public events, but has not been seen since January last year at an event for the Lunar New Year holiday, fueling speculation about her health and possible pregnancy.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers on Tuesday that Ri appeared to have abstained from outside activities to prevent coronavirus infections, but was “playing well with his children”.
NIS believes Ri and Kim have three children. Little is publicly known about the trio.
North Korea has not confirmed any cases of Covid-19, but the NIS said an outbreak could not be ruled out, as the country had active exchanges with China, where the virus first emerged, before closing the border early. last year.
Ri and Kim smiled as they watched the show at the Mansudae Art Theater in the capital Pyongyang.
Unlike several previous events, no one in the photos published by Rodong Sinmun wore a mask or maintained measures of social distance.
The newspaper also reported that Kim visited the Kumsusan Sun Palace, which houses the embalmed bodies of his father and grandfather, to put wreaths for the birthday, called the Day of the Bright Star.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s military said on Tuesday that they had captured a North Korean man who crossed the heavily fortified border between the two countries and was investigating whether he tried to desert.
The man was found near a checkpoint on the east end of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which separates the rival Koreas, and was taken into custody after a three-hour search, said the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
“He is considered a North Korean and we are conducting an investigation into the details, including how he fell and whether he wanted to defect,” said the JCS in a statement.
Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics
The rare border crossing occurred when North Korea’s protracted blockades reduced the number of defectors arriving in South Korea to a lower level last year.
Cross-border ties went sour after the denuclearization negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington were halted in 2019.
A fight broke out in September after North Korean troops killed a South Korean fisherman who disappeared into the sea, creating public and political turmoil in the south.
In July, Kim declared an emergency and isolated a border town after a person with symptoms of Covid-19 illegally crossed the border into the north from the south.