In early July 2012, observers began to notice that Kim Jong Un, then only recently-promoted to North Korea’s top job after the sudden death of his father, was being frequently seen in public in the company of a mysterious, good-looking woman roughly his age.

At that time, most suspected that she was his wife or girlfriend, but unusually for North Korea, the mystery did not last long. Very soon, in late July, DPRK official media openly referred to her as Kim Jong Un’s wife. Her name was made public, too: as everybody knows now, the North Korean leader is married to Ri Sol Ju, a former singer, musician, and cheerleader.