» 09/20/2012 15:24 NORTH KOREA Not just Kate: Pyongyang censors first lady’s past by Joseph Yun Li-sun Instead of fighting the famine, the regime led by Kim Jong-un has launched a campaign to retrieve a CD containing the songs by "companion Ri", wife of the dictator. The "pop" image clashes with that of the sober matron concerned about the revolution and the people.
Seoul (AsiaNews) - Instead of carrying
out the program of economic reforms, the authorities of North Korea prefer to launch a campaign
against pop music. The reason behind this decision is to prevent the population
from finding out that the new wife of the dictator, "companion Ri
Sol-joo", was until last year a mediocre pop singer.
A source tells the Daily NK: "In practice, there are buyers all over Pyongyang. They are
searching for the CD containing her songs, including one titled 'Sobaeksu': the
album cover is in fact a photo of her face ". The mission involves the
Department of propaganda and Agitation.
The campaign aims to eliminate the "awkward" past of the first lady
of North Korea.
As the source explains, "her role as a singer clashes with the image of
matron concerned about the health of the North Korean people. Nevertheless,
thanks to the new media, it is very difficult to keep a secret. Lots of people know
she sang with the 'Unhasu orchestra. "
The marriage of Kim Jong-un, the third son and successor of the "Dear
Leader" Kim Jong-il, and "companion Ri" was combined by his
uncle (and guardian). She was presented as a fervent revolutionary, an image
required by the wife of the leader who wants to follow in the footsteps of his
grandfather Kim Il-sung.
However, the two have already been the focus of several small scandals while
people are dying of hunger and the country is in fact marginalized by the
international community, the couple opened an amusement park and a fast food
restaurant in the capital. In addition, photos of the new Mrs. Kim with an
expensive designer bag have outraged the North Koreans.
