FILE - In this Sunday, April 15, 2012 file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves from a balcony at the end of a mass military parade in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square. North Korea said its new, young leader Kim is married, announcing it for the first time in a brief and routine state TV report Wednesday evening, July 25, 2012 that ends weeks of speculation about a beautiful woman who accompanied him to recent public events. Kim toured an amusement park with his "wife, comrade Ri Sol Ju" on Tuesday, while a crowd cheered for the leader, the speaker said without giving any more details about Ri, including how long they had been married. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
July 25, 2012 - 9:14 AM
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea said its new, young leader Kim Jong Un is married, announcing it for the first time in a brief and routine state TV report Wednesday evening that ends weeks of speculation about a beautiful woman who accompanied him to recent public events.
Kim toured an amusement park with his "wife, comrade Ri Sol Ju" on Tuesday, while a crowd cheered for the leader, the speaker said without giving any more details about Ri, including how long they had been married.
Seven months after inheriting the country from his father, Kim Jong Il, the 20-something leader has been shown in the media several times with the young woman, including at a concert where Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters appeared and at tours of various North Korean sites.
While the woman hasn't been identified until now, media and analysts in the South were quick to guess that she was his wife.
Kim's public appearances with the woman are a striking change from his father's style. Kim Jong Il's 17-year rule was known for its secrecy. His companions and his children weren't mentioned by state media, including Kim Jong Un, who was virtually unknown before his formal introduction to the world in late 2010.
The new leader's style is considered more similar to his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, who built homes, parks and schools and was often shown alongside his wife, Kim Jong Suk, and with children in his arms.
The speculation about Kim Jong Un's private life has coincided with high tension on the Korean Peninsula following a North Korean long-range rocket launch in April and repeated threats by Pyongyang to attack the South.
News from © The Associated Press, 2012