New Delhi: North Korea’s most famous state TV anchor Ri Chun-hee, who has been making televisied announcements for decades now, has been rewarded by her country in a special way. Leader Kim Jong-un Thursday gave her a luxurious home even as he asked her to continue serving as the voice of his ruling Workers’ Party, news agency AP reported.
Ri, 79, is referred to as “pink lady” outside North Korea due to her bright traditional Korean attire, and is known for her passionate voice. She is considered the face and voice of North Korea’s propaganda-driven news broadcasts.
“(Kim) said it is the sincerity of the party that it would spare nothing for a national treasure like her, who has worked as a revolutionary announcer for the party for more than 50 years since her girlhood,” the AP report said, quoting the official Korean Central News Agency.
Kim expressed his “expectation that she would as ever vigorously continue her work in good health as befitting a spokeswoman for the party”.
Ri’s new house is in a newly built riverside residential district in capital Pyongyang, which Kim inaugurated Wednesday. Like Ri, according to KCNA, some other people who have given distinguished service to the country, were also given houses in the district.
Kim took a tour of Ri’s house and held her hand while descending the stairs. According to KCNA, the anchor said she felt her new house is like a hotel. She said all her family members “stayed up all night in tears of deep gratitude for the party’s benevolence”.
North Korea usually marks key state anniversaries by inaugurating construction projects. It’s the 110th birthday of state founder Kim Il Sung, Kim’s late grandfather, on Friday, April 15. Since its foundation in 1948, North Korea has been ruled by three generations of the Kim family.
Quoting experts, the AP report said Kim is giving special treatment to elite North Koreans to boost their loyalty at a time when the country is grappling with the Covid pandemic and a struggling economy.
“By giving houses to those who have been faithful to him, Kim Jong Un would want to further bolster their loyalty and internal unity,” Moon Seong Mook, an analyst with the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, was quoted as saying in the AP report. Ri, he said, is a clear example of such people as she has “strongly propagated his nuclear and missile tests and served as a sort of bugler for him”.
Ri has been with state TV since the early 1970s, during the rule of Kim Il Sung.
The report said she has close ties to Kim, which were seen last year at a government event that she watched sitting right next to Kim. At another such event, she was seen shaking Kim’s hand and then holding his arm to pose for a group photo.
Analyst Moon said Ri receives “Cabinet member-level treatment”, and is expected to continue to be in the job for at least the next few years.