Kim Jong-un wife’s ‘stylish’ fashion sense a hit with China’s public
North Korea’s first lady has become an instant hit in China with her fashionable looks after accompanying her husband Kim Jong-un in a surprise visit to China, while Chinese internet censors quickly cracked down on discussions of her looks and dresses.
Ri Sol-ju, the mysterious young wife of the totalitarian leader and a former star singer, was filmed by state television in at least three different outfits during their two-day stay in Beijing.
William Tang Tat-chi, a Hong Kong fashion designer, said the style was “subtle” but not conservative.
The Beijing visit was a rare public appearance by Ri in a diplomatic setting as she has mainly been seen at domestic events.
Many Chinese internet users praised Ri’s looks and compared her style to that of Peng Liyuan, China’s first lady, before censors rolled on to remove nearly all discussions from social media platforms.
“Ri Sol-ju is indeed beautiful and amiable. I can tell she would be good at ‘first-lady diplomacy’, better than Kim’s sister,” one internet user commented on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter.
Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of Kim Jong-un, recently represented the country at the Winter Olympics in South Korea, and there had been speculation that she was the mystery visitor to Beijing before her brother’s presence was confirmed.
Another commented that Ri had “a powerful presence”, looking prettier than Peng, even though Peng dressed more fashionably.
Others compared Ri’s look with that of South Korean celebrities, saying she was “as pretty as Song Hye-kuo”, an actress widely popular in China.
Ri remains an enigmatic figure and little is known about her for certain. Kim announced their marriage in 2012, and some analysts believe Ri was born in September 1989, making her 28 years old.
She is believed to have given birth to three children and some reports have suggested she had a career as a singer before her marriage.
In the welcoming ceremony, Ri wore a camel cropped jacket with a matching midi skirt and a pair of nude pumps.
She also wore a necklace, a pair of tiny ear studs and a big shiny pink and gold butterfly-shaped brooch, with her hair draped on her back, to finish off a calm, energetic and clean-cut look.
Peng, a famous singer in her own right, was dressed in a white coat dress with dramatic black ink patterns during the ceremony.
During a visit to the Chinese Academy of Science, Ri wore a white jacket and an apple green dress with a brown flower-shaped ribbon brooch and a nude leather clutch.
At a lunch with Xi and Peng at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, where Kim stayed, Ri changed to an elegant ivory two-piece dress with flowery decorations on the collar and soft frilled sleeves.
Tang said although the style of Ri’s two looks were “outdated”, it was still impressive considering she came from a totalitarian country where access to fashion is limited to common people.
Search results of “Ri Sol-ju” remained blocked on Weibo as of midday Wednesday, and most of the comments under news reports of the pair’s trip had been removed.