Ri Chun-hee (also romanizedasRi Chun HeeorRi Chun Hui;[1]Korean: 리춘희[ɾitsʰunçi]; born 8 July 1943) is a North Korean news presenter for North Korean broadcaster Korean Central Television. She is most notable for her characteristic emotional and sometimes vitriolic tone, described as "passionate", "vaguely menacing", and "aggressive".[2] She announced her retirement in 2012, but still occasionally presents the news of major developments.
Ri was born in 1943 to a poor family in TongchoninGangwon, Japanese Korea. Ri studied performance art at Pyongyang University of Dramatic and Cinematic Arts and was recruited as a newsreader by KCTV.[3][4]
Ri began work onscreen in February 1971,[4][5] became chief news presenter of KCTV and was consistently on‑air from the mid-1980s onwards.[2] Her career was unique for its longevity; while many at KCTV were demoted or purged, her career was never interrupted.[2] When she announced her retirement in January 2012, she told Chinese media that she would be working behind the scenes and training a new generation of broadcasters.[6] The UK's Daily Telegraph commented that she had been "entrusted with announcing great moments in North Korean history".[7] American journalist and author Bob Woodward referred to her as North Korea's Walter Cronkite in his 2018 book Fear: Trump in the White House.[8]
Ri came out of retirement to announce major news stories. She announced North Korea's claim to have carried out an H-bomb detonation in January 2016[9] and a missile launch in February 2016.[10] She also announced the nuclear tests of September 2016,[11]September 2017[12] and the missile test in November 2017.[13] Later, she announced the suspension of North Korean nuclear and intercontinental ballistic testing in April 2018[14] and the Singapore summit between Kim and Donald Trump in June 2018.[7] On April 15, 2018, Ri read a report that named Kim Jong Un's wife, Ri Sol-ju, as the "First Lady" for the first time.[15][16]
In 2022, Kim gave luxury houses to Ri and other North Korean elites. Ri narrated a state media video of Kim giving her a tour of her new Pyongyang home.[17] Ri later said her new home is "like a hotel", adding her and her family "stayed up all night in tears of deep gratitude for the party’s benevolence".[18]
Ri is known for her melodramatic announcing style. She often speaks in a wavering and exuberant tone when praising the nation's leaders, and conversely with visible anger when denouncing its enemies. According to Brian Reynolds Myers, a professor at Dongseo University and an expert in North Korean propaganda, her training in drama serves her well, given the large amount of showmanship that is typical of North Korean broadcasting.[3]
During the official announcement of Kim Il Sung's death in 1994, Ri was visibly crying during the broadcast. Likewise, when she announced Kim Jong Il's death in 2011, she was seen holding back tears.[19] Ri usually appears wearing either a pink Western-style suit or in a traditional Korean joseon-ot.[11] She is nicknamed the "Pink Lady" and "North Korean News Lady".[20] The Greek satirical TV show Radio Arvyla occasionally uses footage of Ri to satirize local Greek news.[citation needed]
^ abcMadden, Michael (2010). Bermudez, Joseph S. Jr. (ed.). "Ri Chun Hui"(PDF). KPA Journal. 1 (10): 4–5. Archived(PDF) from the original on 12 January 2011.
^ abWerman, Marco; Strother, Jason (8 December 2009). "The voice of North Korea". The World. Public Radio International. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013.
^Woodward, Bob (2018). Fear: Trump in the White House. Simon & Schuster. p. 91. ISBN978-1-5011-7553-4. on September 9, 2016, ... North Korea had detonated a nuclear weapon ... Seismic monitors had instantly revealed that the vibrations recorded were not caused by an earthquake. ... Dispelling any doubt, North Korea's 73-year-old female version of Walter Cronkite, Ri Chun-hee, appeared on state-controlled television to announce the test.
