Kim Jong-un is married – and may have a child

North Korea has announced that Kim Jong-un is married, prompting speculation that the new leader may have already become a father.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and an unidentified woman visit the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground, which is nearing completion, in Pyongyang 

State media confirmed that a woman seen accompanying Mr Kim in a series of recently publicised appearances is his wife. A Seoul-based news agency named his her as Ri Sol-ju. The pair were photographed yesterday at a ceremony marking the completion of an amusement park on Rungna islet in Pyongyang.

Although North Korean media did not disclose any further information about Miss Ri, reports from Japan said the pair married in 2009 and that she gave birth to a child in 2010.

Miss Ri was born in Seishin, North Korea, and is a graduate of the Kim Il Sung University graduate school, according to Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun newspaper. She is described as 5ft 4 tall and 27 years of age.

Miss Ri has been pictured frequently with the North Korean leader over recent weeks, including a July 8 visit to the Kim Il-sung mausoleum, to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the North Korean founder’s death. Her identity until now, however, had remained a mystery. Earlier reports had speculated that Miss Ri may have been Mr Kim’s sister or even Hyon Song-wol, a married North Korean singer who has reportedly known the North Korean leader for years.

Asked about it, State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland said that the US "would always wish any kind of newly weds well as they embark" - although it's not clear when the couple got married.

The US and North Korea do not have diplomatic relations, and Ms Nuland said: "I don't think we were invited to the wedding."
The announcement that Mr Kim is married may be part of the process of establishing his authority. Mr Kim inherited the post of “supreme leader” of North Korea from his father, Kim Jong-il, who died last December. Since then, he has consolidated his hold on power, officially becoming a “Marshal” — the highest rank in the Korean People’s Army — last Wednesday.
Aged only 28 or 29, Mr Kim is the youngest head of state in the world.