Small Signs of Progress in North Korea

The wife of Kim Jong-Un's choice of clothes and changes to how broadcasts are delivered point to the isolated state being less totalitarian

SEOUL: The wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has re-appeared, after dropping out of the public eye for the past two months.

Ri Sol-ju's brief absence had sparked feverish speculation that she was either pregnant or had fallen out of favour.

She had caused just as much of a stir a few months before when she started appearing alongside the North Korean leader.

She was among some of the changes seen in Pyongyang, in the year since Kim Jong-un took power.

Disney characters performing in front of the young leader and other North Korean elites.

Since then, mini-skirts and high heels have become a common sight—quite a departure from when Kim Jong-un's father and grandfather were in power.

Also unthinkable then—a woman wearing a trouser suit.

But this was what Ri Sol Ju—the former pop star who is now North Korea's First Lady—wore.