North Korea's ruling dynasty could have its newest member.
After months of speculation over whether Ri Sol-ju, Kim Jong-un's wife, was pregnant, there are now reports that the couple's first baby was born in secret. The reports have not been confirmed by North Korea or otherwise verified.
Speculation over the possibility of the North Korean first couple having a child hit a high point in January, when South Korean media closely analyzed photos of Ri where she appeared to have lost some heft around her midsection, suggesting that she might have given birth.
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Ri appeared last week at a basketball game held during the visit of former NBA player Dennis Rodman. She was photographed standing and applauding. She showed no obvious signs of pregnancy or having recently given birth, and of course, did not have a baby with her.
Very little has been mentioned about this in South Korea, where the media are currently focused on new president Park Geun-hye's efforts to establish her government. Much of the discussion has come from US media.
"If it was a boy, [the North Koreans] would have made an announcement," Michael Madden, editor of the North Korea Leadership Watch, an online newsletter, told the Washington Free Beacon.
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If a female baby was indeed born, she is unlikely to be pegged to take over leadership of the totalitarian state in her adulthood. The three member Kim dynasty has been all male and the country is still patriarchal; instances of women in positions of authority are not common.