The Korea Herald

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Kim Jong-un's aunt makes 1st public appearance in over 6 years

By Yonhap

Published : Jan. 26, 2020 - 11:45

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (second from right, front row) and Kim Kyong-hui (fourth from left, front row) are shown attending a performance on Saturday in an image release by North Korean state media. Yonhap North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (second from right, front row) and Kim Kyong-hui (fourth from left, front row) are shown attending a performance on Saturday in an image release by North Korean state media. Yonhap

Kim Kyong-hui, a once-powerful aunt of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has made her first public appearance in more than six years, Pyongyang's state media showed Sunday.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim Jong-un attended a concert celebrating Lunar New Year's Day on Saturday at the Samjiyon Theater in Pyongyang with his wife, Ri Sol-ju. The KCNA, monitored in Seoul, added that Kim Kyong-hui, widow of Kim Jong-un's late uncle Jang Song-thaek, joined the leader and his wife in the audience.

Jang, once considered the No. 2 man in Pyongyang, was executed in December 2013 for treason. Kim Kyong-hui hadn't been seen in public since, leading to speculation that she, too, had been purged. The National Intelligence Service in Seoul told the National Assembly in August 2017 that she was staying near Pyongyang and was getting medical treatment for diabetes.

Kim Kyong-hui is a daughter of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung and sister of late leader and Kim Jong-un's father, Kim Jong-il, She was stripped of major government posts following her husband's unexpected execution. (Yonhap)