Seoul, South Korea

State media presenter Ri Chun Hi is one of North Korea’s most famous voices after announcing major events in the country in recent decades – including nuclear and missile tests and the death of a leader – in a resounding voice full of emotion.

The anchor nicknamed overseas the ‘pink lady’ for her shiny traditional attire was the subject of official North Korean media herself on Thursday after leader Kim Jong Un gave Ri a luxurious residence and asked her to continue to vigorously serve as the spokesperson for its decision. Workers’ Party.

Experts say Kim is trying to shore up his support from North Korea’s elite as the country faces pandemic hardship and a diplomatic stalemate.

“(Kim) said it is the sincerity of the party that there is nothing to save for the treasures of the country like her who has worked as a revolutionary announcer for the party for over 50 years since she was a child,” said the Korean central official. said the news agency. Kim expressed “the hope that she would always vigorously pursue her work in good health, as befits a party spokeswoman.”

Kim met Ri at a new terraced riverside residential area that opened in Pyongyang on Wednesday. KCNA said homes in the district were presented to Ri and others who have rendered distinguished service to the state.

Friday is the 110th birthday of Kim’s late grandfather and state founder, Kim Il Sung. It is the most important state anniversary in North Korea, which has been successively ruled by three generations of the Kim family since its founding in 1948. The new housing area is where the residence used to be official of Kim Il Sung until the 1970s.

“By giving houses to those who have been loyal to him, Kim Jong Un would like to further strengthen their kingship and internal unity,” said Moon Seong Mook, an analyst at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, based in Seoul. “Ri Chun Hi is a clear example of such people as she heavily publicized her nuclear and missile tests and served as her bugler.”

KCNA said Kim looked around Ri’s house with her on Wednesday and took an unspecified step to keep her from being inconvenienced “while going up and down the stairs.”

Ri, who is around 79, said she felt her new home felt like a hotel and that all of her family members “stayed awake all night in tears of deep gratitude for the benevolence of the party. “, according to KCNA.

Ri joined state television in the early 1970s, when the country was still ruled by Kim Il Sung, and she gradually became the face of the country’s propaganda-focused news broadcasts.

Her close bond with Kim was on display at a military parade last year when she watched the marching troops from an elevated veranda right next to Kim, put her hand on his shoulder and whispered to him at a given time. In another event, she was the first person to shake hands with Kim before holding her arm and posing for a group photo.

Moon, the analyst, said Ri was receiving cabinet-level treatment at home, appeared to be in good health and should continue to handle major TV ads for at least the next few years.

Ri’s passionate and effusive style has occasionally sparked laughs in other countries. In 2011, a Taiwanese television station apologized after one of its newsreaders mimicked the tone used by Ri when she announced the death of Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il.

Since inheriting power on the death of his father, Kim Jong Un, 38, has ruled North Korea with absolute authority. But he faces one of the toughest times of his reign after the coronavirus pandemic shocked an economy already in dire straits due to mismanagement and sanctions imposed by the United States. Analysts say the recent missile tests were aimed at advancing its weapons and pressuring the United States and its rivals for diplomatic concessions.