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First Lady of North Korea

The first lady of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Korean: 조선민주주의인민공화국 영부인; RR: joseonminjujuuiinmingonghwagug yeongbu-in), more commonly known as the first lady of North Korea, is the title given to the wife of the supreme leader of North Korea. However, only two wives of the supreme leader have received this title: the inaugural holder Kim Song-ae, the second wife of Kim Il Sung; and the incumbent Ri Sol-ju, the wife of Kim Jong Un.

History[edit]

During the administration of President Kim Il Sung, Kim Song-ae assumed the duties of first lady in 1963, 11 years after the marriage.^[1] The position was left vacant under the leadership of General Secretary Kim Jong Il, who married twice and had three domestic partnerships at different times.

The position was re-established under Kim Jong Un in April 2018 when Ri Sol-ju, whom he married in 2009, was elevated to "Respected First Lady". The term had not been used since 1974, when it described Kim Song-ae. Ri was previously called "comrade" by state media; the promotion occurred ahead of the April 2018 inter-Korean summit where Ri and the first lady of South Korea, Kim Jung-sook, were in attendance.^[2][3]

List of first ladies of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea[edit]

The following is a list of the first ladies of North Korea.

First Lady No.	Portrait	First Lady (Maiden name)	Tenure	Age at tenure start	Supreme Leader (Husband, unless noted)
1		Kim Song-ae 1924–2014 (aged 89) [4][5][6]	17 December 1963 – 15 August 1974	38 years, 353 days	Kim Il Sung m. 1941 and 1952
-		Vacant	15 August 1974 – 15 April 2018	—	Kim Jong Il m. 1966 and 1974
2		Ri Sol-ju Born (1989-10-26) 26 October 1989 (age 34) [7][8][9]	15 April 2018 – present	28 years, 158 days	Kim Jong Un m. 2009

See also[edit]

• First Lady
• List of leaders of North Korea
  • Supreme Leader of North Korea
• First Lady of South Korea

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Tertitskiy, Fyodor (2 March 2018). "Cults of the forgotten wives: Kim Song Ae and Ko Yong Hui". NK News.
• "The Women in Kim's Life". Time. 23 June 2003. Archived from the original on 10 July 2010.