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| ▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, seated next to his daughter Ju-ae, watches a performance marking International Women's Day on March 8, 2026, at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium, in this photo released the next day by the Korean Central News Agency. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap) |
NK leader-intl womens day
N. Korea's Kim attends concert marking Int'l Women's Day with wife, daughter
By Park Boram
SEOUL, March 9 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a concert marking International Women's Day with his wife and daughter Ju-ae, and hailed women's role in national development, state media said Monday.
Kim attended the performance at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium the previous day with his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and his teenage daughter, while female party and government officials, workers and members of foreign missions were also present, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
As before, state media did not disclose the name of the daughter, who is widely assessed to be groomed to succeed Kim as national leader, referring to her only as his "beloved daughter," an expression used frequently to describe her.
Images released showed Ju-ae seated between her father and mother at the concert, with the leader holding her hand during the performance.
North Korea observes International Women's Day as a national holiday with public events, using it as an occasion to solidify national unity, although women's rights conditions in the country are widely seen as dire.
In a speech at the concert, Kim expressed "special thanks to all the Korean women for their unusual and unknown efforts," calling them "the strong pillars of the revolution."
"When our women continue to carry forward the traditions of patriotism by fulfilling their irreplaceable responsibility and role, our society will get stronger and more prosperous," the KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
Going forward, women will play an important role in bringing prosperity and power to the country, Kim also said, calling women's roles and responsibilities in pursuing the development of North Korea's socialism "irreplaceable."
Images released by state media also showed that the spectators included key female figures in North Korea, including Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui; Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the leader; and famous news anchor Ri Chun-hee.
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