- Kim Jong Un's wife, Ri Sol Ju, remains a mysterious but intriguing figure in the Kim family dynasty.
- Though she remains a subject of curiosity, she reportedly did not accompany her husband on his trip to Hanoi for a summit with President Donald Trump this week.
- She was first identified as Kim's wife in 2012 — but since then, few details beyond her fashion taste have emerged.
Ri Sol Ju, the wife of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, has for years been the subject of intense curiosity and international media speculation.
Despite her occasional media appearances alongside her husband, she reportedly won't be joining Kim in Hanoi, Vietnam, for the summit with President Donald Trump this week.
Over the last year, Ri has become a fashion hit in China after the couple paid a surprise visit to Beijing, and she has been seen cultivating what appears to be a warm friendship with South Korea's first lady, Kim Jung-sook.
But beyond her taste in fashion, few details are known about Ri, the woman who in 2012 was identified as Kim's wife.
She is thought to be 29 now and a mother to three children, according to South Korean intelligence reports. But the Hermit Kingdom's secretive government has not confirmed that information.
Ri doesn't appear in public very often. She's usually seen when Kim celebrates missile test launches, and is always photographed smiling politely, wearing clean-cut, pastel dresses.
She was reportedly born into an elite family — her father was a professor and her mother a doctor — but little else is known about her life, or how she ultimately became the wife of the world's most notorious living dictator.
Here's everything we know about Ri Sol Ju:
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Ri Sol Ju was first identified as the wife of Kim Jong Un in July 2012, when North Korean state media made it official.
An international media frenzy had been mounting for weeks over the "mystery woman" spotted with Kim at a a series of public events, including a theater performance featuring Disney characters, and a tribute to Kim's grandfather on the anniversary of his death.
Source: CNN
Ri's eventual public introduction was underwhelming, to say the least. North Korean media mentioned her almost as an afterthought during coverage of an amusement park opening in Pyongyang.
Source: The New York Times
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