Kim Jong Eun’s wife, Ri Sol Ju

North Korea ended weeks of speculation Wednesday by confirming that the mystery woman beside young leader Kim Jong Eun at public events is indeed his wife, “Comrade Ri Sol Ju.”

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July 9, 2012

North Korean leader Kim Jong Eun and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, clap along to a performance by the North’s new Moranbong band in Pyongyang. State media disclosed July 25 that Kim is married, a startling announcement in a country that has long kept its first ladies nearly invisible.

Korean Central News Agency / Korea News Service via AP

In this undated photo released by North Korea on July 25, 2012, Kim Jong Eun, center, is accompanied by wife Ri Sol Ju as he inspects Rungna People's Pleasure Ground, an amusement park in Pyongyang, the country’s capital. State media identified the woman as Kim’s wife, “Comrade Ri Sol Ju.” There was no mention of Ri’s age or of how long the couple have been married.

Korean Central News Agency / Korea News Service via AP

North Korean leader Kim Jong Eun and wife Ri Sol Ju visit Rungna People's Pleasure Ground in Pyongyang in this undated photo released by state media on July 25, 2012. Ri appears to be in her late 20s or early 30s. Kim is thought to be in his late 20s.

/ Korean Central News Agency via Reuters

In this undated photo released by North Korea on July 25, 2012, leader Kim Jong Eun and wife Ri Sol Ju visit Pyongyang’s Rungna People's Pleasure Ground. State media have shown Ri with Kim — in photographs or on television — four times.

/ Korean Central News Agency via Reuters

In this undated photo released by state media on July 25, 2012, North Korean leader Kim Jong Eun, center, and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, attend the opening ceremony of Rungna People's Pleasure Ground, which sits beside the Taedong River in Pyongyang.

/ Korean Central News Agency via Reuters

This picture released by North Korean state media on July 25, 2012, shows leader Kim Jong Eun, center, and wife Ri Sol Ju at a dolphinarium at Rungna People's Pleasure Ground in Pyongyang. A report on Kim’s succession, released July 25 by the International Crisis Group, described the heir’s “stable” rise to power and noted that he could be in power “for decades,” in part because of his charismatic personality.

Korean Central News Agency / Korea News Service via AFP/Getty Images

In this photo released by North Korea on July 25, 2012, leader Kim Jong Eun, accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol Ju, waves to a crowd as he inspects Rungna People's Pleasure Ground in Pyongyang.

Korean Central News Agency / Korea News Service via AP

North Korea’s Kim Jong Eun and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, visit a wading pool at Rungna People's Pleasure Ground in Pyongyang in this undated photo released by state media on July 25, 2012.

Korean Central News Agency / Korea News Service via AFP/Getty Images

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