Who is the woman with Kim Jong-chul?

By Kim Young-jin

Speculation was rampant Thursday over the identity of a woman seen with Kim Jong-chul, the second son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, at an Eric Clapton concert in Singapore earlier this week.

Some North Korea watchers and media outlets said the woman, spotted Monday by a South Korean TV crew next to Kim, 30, bears a close resemblance to his sister Kim Yo-jong. But others suggested it could be his fiance or wife, judging from an image of the two at an aquarium captured by Japanese media outlet Asahi TV.

“Her facial features and physical build are similar to that of the Kim family children,” Cheong Seong-chang, an expert with the Sejong Institute think tank, said, referring to their thick build. “This type of body type is rare in the North.”

The image captured by Asahi TV showed the two wearing matching rings, backing up earlier speculation that the two are married or engaged.

Yo-jong is the daughter of leader Kim and Ko Young-hee, who died in 2004, who is also the mother of Jong-chul and Kim Jong-un, the heir to power. Yo-jong is said to have been chubby as a child. Despite the ascension of his younger brother to power, the three siblings are reportedly close.

The speculation comes during a busy week for the ruling Kim family.

While the North celebrated the birthday of Kim Jong-il on Wednesday, Jong-un appeared to be taking steps toward the top of the impoverished, nuclear armed state.

In a sign of his rising status, Jong-un’s name was listed just below that of his father on a list of officials attending a choral performance to mark the birthday.

The Unification Ministry said Thursday that Jong-un’s position in the protocol appeared to be an “important sign” that he has risen to the number two position in the Stalinist country.