Rumor: Kim Ok Remarries
I noted Kim Ok‘s disturbing resemblance to Yonsama when reports first emerged back in 2006 that Kim Jong Il had married his long-time secretary.
According to this report from the Joongang Ilbo, however, Ms. Kim has moved on in life and remarried:
Sources told the JoongAng Ilbo that they have received tips that Kim Ok has married an official from the ruling Workers’ Party.
“We’re analyzing intelligence that Kim Ok, who had been Kim Jong-il’s personal secretary, has tied the knot with a Workers’ Party member,” a source said. “We believe Kim Ok has quit her job in the secretariat.
In North Korea, women working in the ruling party leave their posts after getting married, on the grounds that they may be too distracted at work.
Um, what?
It would be technically inaccurate to describe a flagrant policy of employment discrimination against married women as a “glass ceiling.” Still, for those of you who would be tempted to infer from this that North Korea has failed to achieve full gender equality, Christine Ahn helpfully points out that at least North Korean women don’t have to look at “ads featuring scantily clad women selling alcohol, fashion or cars,” and may instead gaze upon “beautifully painted political posters … to inspire their collective spirits and drive to work harder for the nation.” See? It’s all a matter of how you define it!
Kim Ok, thought to be 45, majored in piano at Pyongyang University of Music and Dance. She is believed to have been Kim Jong-il’s secretary since the late 1980s and to have been the Dear Leader’s fourth domestic partner following the death of Ko Yong-hui in 2004. Kim Ok has accompanied Kim Jong-il abroad, including during the leader’s visit to China in January 2006.
The South Korean intelligence has kept a closer eye on Kim Ok since Kim Jong-il reportedly suffered a stroke in August of last year. But intelligence sources here said Kim Ok has become less visible since the Supreme People’s Assembly held a session in April.
You have to respect anyone who survives a breakup with Kim Jong Il and lives to never breathe a word about it. By some accounts, Kim Ok had even been a bit player in the much-ballyhooed succession drama in North Korea, as to which I still await the emergence of any real evidence that (a) it’s actually taking place or (b) third son Kim Jong Un would hold any real power. And for some North Koreans, those doubts may be reason enough to get out of bed, go to yet another criticism session, and live for another dreary day. According to RFA, via the Chosun Ilbo, some malcontents have apparently expressed their dread of the Kim Jong Un era. The sentiment is understandable and logical, but like nearly all stories about public opinion in North Korea, it’s more anecdotal than scientific.