SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — State media anchor Ri Chun Hi is one of North Korea’s most famous voices after covering key events in the country in recent decades — including nuclear and missile tests and the death of a leader — had announced in a thunderous, booming voice full of emotion.
The anchor, dubbed the “pink lady” abroad for her bright, traditional attire, was herself the subject of official North Korean media on Thursday after leader Kim Jong Un gave Ri a luxurious stay and asked her to perform vigorously. continue to serve as the voice of its ruling Workers’ Party.
Experts say Kim is trying to increase his support from elite North Korea as the country faces pandemic hardship and a diplomatic stalemate.
“(Kim) said it is the sincerity of the party that there is nothing left for the treasures of the country like her, who has worked for the party for more than 50 years since her childhood as a revolutionary announcer,” the official Korean exchange said. Bank. the news agency said. Kim expressed the expectation that she would vigorously continue her work as always in good health, as befits a party spokeswoman.
Kim met Ri at a newly built riverside terraced residential area inaugurated on Wednesday in Pyongyang. KCNA said houses in the district were being offered to Ri and other people who have done a great service to the state.
Friday is the 110th birthday of Kim’s late grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung. It is the most important state anniversary in North Korea, which has been ruled successively by three generations of the Kim family since its founding in 1948. Until the 1970s, the official residence of Kim Il Sung was located in the new residential area.
“By giving homes to those who have been loyal to him, Kim Jong Un would like to further strengthen their royalty and internal unity,” said Moon Seong Mook, an analyst at the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy. “Ri Chun Hi is a clear example of such people, as she has strongly promoted his nuclear and missile tests and served as a sort of bugler for him.”
KCNA said Kim looked around Ri’s home with her on Wednesday and took an unspecified step to avoid experiencing discomfort “while going up and down the stairs.”
Ri, who is about 79, said she felt like her new home was a hotel and that all of her family members “stayed up all night in tears of deep gratitude for the benevolence of the party,” according to KCNA.
Ri joined state television in the early 1970s, when the country was still ruled by Kim Il Sung, and she has gradually become the face of the country’s propaganda-driven newscasts.
Her close ties to Kim were shown at a military parade last year when she saw troops marching from a raised porch right next to Kim, put her hand on his shoulder and, at one point, whispered to him. In another instance, she was the first person to exchange a handshake with Kim before holding his arm and posing for a group photo.
Moon, the analyst, said Ri is being treated at the cabinet level at home, appears healthy and is expected to continue handling major television announcements in the coming years.
Ri’s passionate, exuberant style has sometimes caused laughter in other countries. In 2011, a Taiwanese TV station apologized after one of its newscasters mimicked Ri’s tone when she announced the death of Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il.
Since inheriting power after his father’s death, Kim Jong Un, 38, has ruled North Korea with absolute authority. But he faces one of the most difficult moments of his rule after the coronavirus pandemic shook an economy already in dire straits from mismanagement and US-led sanctions. Analysts say recent missile tests were intended to advance its weapons and pressure the US and rivals for diplomatic concessions.
