North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s wife, Ri Sol Ju, appeared in the state media for the first time in more than a year on Wednesday, joining her husband at a concert on one of the biggest holidays in the country.
Official ruling Worker’s Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun released photos of the couple during the event to celebrate the birthday of Kim’s late father and former leader Kim Jong Il.
Ri regularly accompanies Kim to major public events, but has not been seen since January last year during an event for the lunar New Year holiday, sparking speculation about her health and potential pregnancy.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers on Tuesday that Ri had apparently refrained from outside activities to prevent coronavirus infections, but that he had ‘played well with their children’.
According to the NIS, 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 been active with China, where the virus first originated, before the border was closed early last year.
Ri and Kim smile as they watch the concert at Mansudae Art Theater in the capital of Pyongyang.
Unlike several previous events, no one in the photos published by Rodong Sinmun wore masks or maintained social distance measures.
The newspaper also reported that Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, which houses the embalmed bodies of his father and grandfather, to lay wreaths for the anniversary, called the Day of the Shining Star.
Meanwhile, the South Korean military said on Tuesday it had captured a North Korean man who had crossed the heavily fortified border between the two countries and was investigating whether he was trying to stay.
The man was found near a checkpoint at the eastern tip of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separated rival Korea, and was arrested after a three-hour search, the Chief of Staff (JCS) said .
“He is believed to be a North Korean and we are investigating details, including how he came down and whether he wanted to be overpowered,” the JCS said in a statement.
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The rare border crossing took place when North Korea’s prolonged exclusions brought the number of apostates arriving in South Korea back to an all-time low last year.
Border ties soured after deprivation talks between Pyongyang and Washington in 2019.
A spike erupted in September after North Korean troops shot dead a South Korean fishery official who had gone missing at sea and sparked public and political uproar in the South.
In July, Kim declared a state of emergency and closed a border town after a person with Covid-19 symptoms illegally crossed the border to the North from the South.