Russian Official: North Korea Outraged by Depiction of Kim Jong Un’s Wife

Kim Jong Un and Ri Sol Ju in a file photo. KCNA

A Russian envoy to North Korea said Kim Jong Un was outraged by allegedly insulting depictions of his wife in leaflets that were launched into the communist country by defectors in recent days.

The impoverished, communist country has become increasingly belligerent earlier this month, blowing up a liaison office shared between the North and the South. Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, also sent out a series of threats to Seoul after the leaflets were dropped in Noth Korea.

Russian ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora told AFP that the leaflets allegedly contained insulting imagery of Ri Sol Ju, the wife of Kim Jong Un, saying they were “insulting propaganda.”

He added that the images of Ri were photoshopped in “such a low-grade way,” adding that it was the “last straw” for North Korea.

This picture taken by North Korean news agency KCNA (Korean Central News Agency) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) and his wife Ri Sol-Ju (2nd R) visiting the Mangyongdae Revolutionary School in Pyongyang to plant trees with its students on a tree planting day on March 2, 2017. AFP/Getty Images

Matsegora didn’t elaborate on what the leaflets said, while he added that Kim Yo Jong is not being trained as the next leader of the isolated country.

“There is absolutely no reason to say that she is being trained” to become the country’s next dictator, Matsegora said. “No one dares to call themselves number two in the country,” he added.

Amid the bellicose statements, White House adviser Robert O'Brien on Tuesday called on Pyongyang to refrain from more provocations.

“Tangible progress has been slow, but the door to dialogue and progress remains open,” O'Brien said, adding that “we are committed to engagement, and to achieving the goals set forth at the Singapore summit.”