by Joseph Yun Li-sun

A photograph of dictator Kim Jong-un’s wife, “companion" Sol Ri-ju, shows her with her husband on a visit to an army unit with a bag that is worth about 1,500 dollars. Seoul’s anger: "They ask the world for money and then flaunt luxury goods." And two high-level defectors say: "Regime leaders have millions of dollars in cash in their homes."

Seoul (AsiaNews) - After an amusement park, a fast food restaurant and a pizzeria, the country's new dictator of North Korea is introducing luxury fashion. The wife of Kim Jong-un,  "companion" Sol Ri-ju, was photographed sporting a Dior bag alongside her husband during an inspection at an army unit on active duty on the border with the South.  The photo has angered Seoul: "They ask money for humanitarian aid and buy a bag that could feed 100 people for a month."

Added to this, a few days ago, the testimony of two former leaders of the Workers' Party, who fled across the border, according to whom Jong-un and his uncle Jang Song-taek  keep foreign currency in cash in their homes to the value of several million dollars "in order to control the market exchange rate in North Korea."

In any case, the recent images of the "royal couple" show that a change is taking place within the world's last remaining Stalinist regime. As well as the Dior bag, "companion" Ri, is elegantly dressed in contrast with the scruffy style of the military, while her husband, in a simple "Mao" style suit, sits haphazardly, approving of all he sees.

Everything is staged by the regime, and the fact that the photograph was taken and then published in the official media could mean to prove that the army is still the first bulwark of North Korea, but things are changing with respect to the stringent composure of former dictator Kim Jong-il.

This analysis, reported by the Chosun Ilbo, was confirmed by Goh Young-hwan: the exile, who escaped with another citizen (anonymous for security reasons), confirmed the presence of a lot of foreign money in the houses of power in the North but stresses "Since the death of Jong-il escapes to the South have declined. This is because the new leader has promised change and people really hope for a better future."

It should be added, however, that the new policies implemented by the young dictator are a major factor in lowering the number of refugees: "Before - says Goh - you could give money to the border guards and they would turn a blind eye because, if they were detected, they were shot as accomplices. Now the regime has told the soldiers that they can keep the money and, if they turn in the deserters, they will get even more".

 

• KOREA
• economy
• dior
• army
• kim
• jong
• un