The wife of Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, has appeared in public wearing what appears to be the same maternity¹ dress（孕妇装） she wore shortly before she gave birth to a daughter in late 2012, giving rise to speculation² that she is once again pregnant.

 

In a photograph on the front page of the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper taken at a recent sporting event in Pyongyang, Ri Sol-ju is wearing loose-fitting clothing and appears to have put on weight again.

 

"There have been rumours³ that Ri is pregnant again for a few weeks now," Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor at Tokyo's Waseda University and an authority on North Korean affairs, told The Telegraph.

 

"This is not really a surprise as Kim needs a son as a successor for the dynasty that has ruled North Korea since it was founded by his grandfather, Kim Il-sung," he said. "It's absolutely impossible that a daughter could take over as leader, so his wife needs to give birth to a son."

 

Formerly⁴ the lead singer with the Ponchonbo Electronic Ensemble⁵, Ri has been out of the North Korean spotlight⁶ again in recent weeks, similar to how she disappeared from her husband's side as he carried out "on-the-spot guidance tours" to state farms, industrial facilities and military units during her first pregnancy⁷.

 

As well as fathering a child with Ri, Kim is believed to have another daughter, born in 2010 to a different mother.

 

The birth of Kim's second daughter coincided with a surge in imports of high-end Swiss and German baby products.

 

No photos have emerged of the couple's baby, which analysts⁸ attribute to the ongoing⁹ three-year period of official mourning for Kim's father, Kim Jong-il, who died in December 2011.

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