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| South Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook, second from right, and her counterpart Ri Sol-ju, talk on their way to the Kim Won Gyun University of Music in Pyongyang, Tuesday. The first ladies toured North Korean facilities for two consecutive days on the sidelines of the third inter-Korean summit that ends today. / Joint Press Corps |
By Park Ji-won
The two Koreas' first ladies, who have been somewhat overshadowed by their husbands, took to the main stage of diplomacy on the sidelines of the third inter-Korean summit, seemingly building a special rapport.
For two consecutive days, South Korea's Kim Jung-sook and her counterpart Ri Sol-ju jointly toured North Korean facilities without their husbands.
Since President Moon Ja-in and his wife arrived at the North Korean capital's airport and were greeted by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his spouse, the first ladies paired up and have mostly been seen together.
On the second day of the visit, Wednesday, the first ladies planned to the Mangyongdae School Children's Palace art school, while their husbands had a closed-door meeting and signed a summit agreement at the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in the morning, according to Yoon Young-chan, the President's senior spokesman. It is unknown why Ri was absent.
On Tuesday, the first ladies spent several hours together visiting the Okryu Children's Hospital and the Kim Won Gyun University of Music.
During their time together, Kim and Ri talked about the visit and expressed hopes for a fruitful outcome to the summit.
Experts say the move is likely part of the North's efforts to solidify its image as a "normal" country by paralleling the figures of the two first ladies along with their husbands, as most of the summit schedule was proposed by the North.
"As you all know, Kim and Ri have a common background in that they both studied music," Yoon told reporters during a press briefing at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul, Tuesday.
Since March, Ri has started appearing more in public and accompanying her husband on official meetings with foreign envoys. Ri traveled to China in June with her husband for the North-China summit.
This is in stark contrast to the last North Korean first lady, who was not seen in public. At the previous inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, Lee Hee-ho and Kwon Yang-sook accompanied their husbands, President Kim Dae-jung and President Roh Moo-hyun, but did not meet the wife of then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
