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KCNA via Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju visit a sub-unit of the North Korean army in this undated photo released by the North's official KCNA on Tuesday.
Ri So Ju, the new bride of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has been photographed with her husband sporting what appears to be a Christian Dior handbag that retails in South Korea for around the average annual income of a North Korean worker.
A photograph originally carried by North Korean state media shows Ri seated next to Kim at a public event with military officials all around them. Perched on the seat next to her is a small bag known as a clutch, bearing the luxury brand's distinctive "D" metal tag.
The New York Times, Britain's Daily Telegraph and other Western outlets cited South Korean news agencies as saying the bag was on sale in luxury boutiques in the South Korean capital Seoul for about $1,600, which was roughly equivalent to the average annual income of a worker in the North.
The bag was identified as resembling a Lady Dior Large Clutch, featuring "richly quilted lambskin, (and) finished with the signature Dior charm logo in silvertone."
More North Korea coverage on NBCNews.com
In the photo, Kim was dressed in his customary dark Mao-style suit, which apparently is intended to show his respect for austerity and simplicity.
South Korean media also reported that Ri looked like she was possibly in the early stages of pregnancy, the Times said.
Disconnect
But the photo of Ri with a pricey handbag underlined the apparent disconnect between North Korea's rulers and the country's average citizens.
North Korea invests heavily in its military but is one of the world's most impoverished countries. Its economy is one of the most centrally-directed and least open in the world.
KCNA via Reuters
A close-up of the bag next to Ri Sol Ju appears to show that it is a pricey clutch from the luxury brand Christian Dior.
The country suffered a famine in the 1990s that killed an estimated million people and has continued to endure severe problems: in June, the United Nations warned that two-thirds of North Korea's 24 million people faced chronic food shortages.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is apparently a married man now that state media announced the leader toured an amusement park with his "wife, comrade Ri Sol Ju." NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
On Thursday, a U.N. official said recent flooding of North Korean farmlands, which killed at least 200 people, would have a detrimental impact on the country's food production.
North Korean leader Kim gets married, tours amusement park, state TV says
Reuters also quoted Claudia von Roehl, the U.N. World Food Program's representative in North Korea, as saying "we should always be aware there is a very chronic and severe problem in the nutrition of the population and in particular the very monotonous diet which basically is composed of maize and rice, carbohydrates, and lacking very significantly in proteins and fats."
'Mystery woman' stirs talk of changing times in North Korea
David Guttenfelder / AP
Take a journey inside North Korea.
Kim took power in North Korea in December 2011 after the death of his father Kim Jong Il.
State news outlets publicly announced last month that the younger Kim, who is believed to be in his late 20s, had married Ri.
NBC News' Daniel Strieff and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Take a snake camera into Mitt Romney's wifes closet and you will see those purses in every color if she has that "cheap" brand. Then compare it to the wages of the average American worker Romney downsized. Unemployment is about $10,000 a year so that is probably in line.......
Great Post. Romney doesn't care about lower and middle income families. His only goal is to become "CEO" of the United States and increase his own personal wealth by doing it. I'm sure it can't be cheap to have a wife that is accustomed to a 'RICH" lifestyle.
Take note here America... This is the same kind of Income Disparity that will come if Mitt the Twit wins the Presidency.
Great post, but unfortunately you could do it with most of our politicians, not just Romney. The sad thing is that instead of fixing the problem, we just keep fighting amongst ourselves.
I'm sure the Obama's gave it to her for a wedding present!!
Probably a hand me down from the first lady!!
I am sory did I read the wrong article? I could have sworn it was about NORTH KOREA!!! You know a contry that has to go begging the world for food, right after trying to launch an ICBM and testing a Nuke. You did read the part about 2 million people starving to death over there, right? The level of represion in that contry would make Stalin green with envy and you compare it to the United States? There is no comparison between that hell hole and any democratic nation on this planet. Yes our politicians may be dumb and thye may be thieves, but you don't go to prison here for calling them dumb and thieves.
Dumb ass liberals want to cry about everything in the morning... nothing better to do... Comments off track do nothing more than show your ignorance!
I hear Michelle Obama, has some expensive sh*t in her closet, like a $6800.00 jacket. This is all politicians they shop Dior& Louie Vuitton, and you shop Walmart. You can't even afford to attend one of those fundraisers lol. You see these elections aren't about the poor, its about the RICH. Always has been, Always will be...
Good morning Leberaltards
jr-1943330
Kind of like... when the wind changes and a righty blames Obama for it? Or if a fly farts in the atlantic, gas prices go up a nickel, and righties blame obama for that too?
Save it for faux news.
Did I read a different article? Or has someone been smoking something way off topic?
N Korea is next to the worst country on earth for cheap brand knock-offs and copy-write infringement. Their illegal duplicating antics cost the rest of the world billions each year, and you guys are bitching about American politics?
If you know who you're voting for, then shut up. You're not going to change anyone else's mind here. If you don't know, you should be asking questions, not running your mouths great American armchair style.
ItsAboutTime...
You mean like how after three years all we hear from the sitting camp is smear campaign and it's all Bush's fault because he can't think of anything good he can sell himself on
Seven, you forgot to mention what's in Michelle's closet you partisan leftard freak.
jr-1943330
Show me 1 reputable source in which Obama 'himself" said it was Bush's fault. :-).
Another NBC story pointing out the RICH have IT and the POOR do NOT have IT. Better known as NBC's campaign for the liberal agenda.
You see this time they use the "bad guy and his wife" from North Korea to whip up the liberal base to get pissed off at anyone with money.
Way to write about NOTHING except stirring up the hate for people with money MSNBC.
This is NOT news...this is biased INFOTAINMENT with an Agenda to piss of the STUPID SHEEPLE of America.
These very biased and poorly written articles keep the sheeple voting more entitlements in because they did not get their knock-off purse.
NBC MAKES A TON OF MONEY AND I BET THE WIVES OF NBC EXECUTIVES HAVE ALLOT MORE THEN A FANCY PURSE. LETS HATE ON THEM TOO!
It's No. Korea! What on earth would you expect? No surprises here at all!!
The handbag is probably a Chinese knock off. Why is this news?
what is the big deal; Obama sent his children on a Cancun vacation, 26 secret service agents, two planes, total cost over 5 million dollars; Wife went to Kenya on vacation took entire family(not Obama), total cost 23 million dollars; they are using air-force one as their personnel taxi.
Kind of like Bush spending over $121 MILLION during his presidency for vacation. Oh wait, that's okay because it was Bush
to itsabouttime- remember this, Obama didnt have to slam Bush he was running against a different rich white guy or do they all look the same to you?.... second we all got MONEY in the Bush stimulus and havent got sh*t in the 4 years we had Obama, if you ask me they were both a waist of electorial votes so get of the Obama band wagon already
The difference is North Korea is supposed to be a communist country strictly dedicated to its own culture. We are a capitalist country steeped in diversity.
A Dior handbag, for example - whether it's authentic or a cheap knock-off - screams capitalism. This goes against everything that they claim communism is while embracing the west.
If Mrs. Obama or Mrs. Romney own a closet full of these things, that's their business as long as the money to purchase them was earned legally. If you want a closet full of Dior, go earn the money. You can. It's still America.
Actually, considering the pricey designer eyewear that his dad loved, this doesn't surprise me. Expect to see more of this with the kid. What we have to hope to see is Junior trying to do what's best for the people of North Korea. So far, the only thing I've seen in the news is Junior having a good time and acquiring new titles. Appears that the kid has a long way to go and still needs to wake up.
Some people have money and some people don't. Does anybody feel the rich should wear rags to show their support of the less fortunate. I don't think so.
There is a HUGE difference between 'being rich' and being "GREEDY".
Very true. Sadly, the two go together more often than not.
And that is one of the reasons that Marie Antoinette lost her head!
Have you seen the politicians in America? Pick one out that is NOT a millionaire.
If they weren't when they were voted in they will be after getting in. Bribes under the guise of campaign contributions.
Could be a copycat clutchbag from china made, afterall all fakes from Rolex to Armani are China made.
You are out of touch. These people live a life of luxury while their subject are in a state of famine. Maybe you need to read more before you comment.
I agree. I purchased (from a great website) several excellent 'replica' Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dior and Coach bags that came from China - none costing more that $150. I've also purchased 7 Rolex watches that are impossible to tell from the real ones. Gave them to family members as gifts.
Dan, do you think that it's admirable for the leader of a country to carry an accessory of this nature when it's been documented that the citizenry are starving? They eat grass to fill their empty bellies, for christ's sake. It's not envy, it's empathy.
Is anyone really surprised though? Really? It's N. Korea's leader, since when has any leader in N.Korea (or anyone not connected to them) ever shown any concern for their starving people? They spent...what...one billion?... making a rocket that failed. That money could have gone to the mouths of their own but it didn't, so an expensive handbag isn't a surprise. These people are beyond selfish and greedy.
Even in NK, it costs a lot to get fatboy laid. ;)
I bet it is a $5 Chinese knock-of, just like about everything else in that part of the world.
Given NK ties to China, this is a knock off - guaranteed.
That said, their leadership is NO DIFFERENT than any other nation.
1/2 our nation is about to Elect Mitt Romney, while a good portion of our nation struggles to find employment...struggled to feed their children, struggles to pay for their failing health. TONS of people die in america of starvation, tons of people live in squalor and utter poverty, many are homeless...
and Mitt Romney has elevators for his cars.
ANY REPUBLICAN who thinks what the NK Leader and his wife are doing, while millions in their nation struggle and die...are HYPOCRITES.
perhaps, maybe the north koreans just need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and work harder? i mean, thats what the Mitt Romneys of America tell the poorest of americans.
To satisfy the world's sanitation and food requirements would cost only US$13 billion- what the people of the United States and the European Union spend on perfume each year.
The assets of the world's three richest men are more than the combined GNP of all the least developed countries on the planet.
Malnutrition is implicated in more than half of all child deaths worldwide - a proportion unmatched by any infectious disease since the Black Death
One out of every eight children under the age of twelve in the U.S. goes to bed hungry every night.
Nearly one in four people, 1.3 billion - a majority of humanity - live on less than $1 per day, while the world's 358 billionaires have assets exceeding the combined annual incomes of countries with 45 percent of the world's people. UNICEF
just a few facts for the heartless and uncaring...go chase those benjamins, your personal wealth is all that matters - so sayeth god (oh wait, no he didnt)
You guys have all missed the point.
NK is supposed to be a communist country, which means there are supposed to be no reach or poor. Communism is supposed to be all about embracing hard work and not being tempted by capitalist extravagance.
As you can see, those in power do not tend to stick by those values. It all proves to be a big fat lie.
The leaders are merely the first to give in to temptations, the rest always follows. USSR collapsed because Western luxuries were way to tempting. People couldn't help but choose McDonald's and Hollywood over communist values.
NK is just a few more expensive purses, DVDs and hamburgers away from ending up the same way.
In fact, comrade Kim looks like he had a few too many hamburgers already.
I don't see anything different there than here in the u.s. Majority of congress are millionaires many time over and it's pretty much a given if you're not rich before u enter office, u are by the time u leave.
Someone please explain to me how this is a "Top Headline" on MSNBC.
SB8o: It's not! I could not care less what the woman has as a handbag. I don't care if she dresses in designer originals. What I care about when it comes to North Korea is their... , well, I guess I don't really care about North Korea. They set their own table, let them sit at it and starve.
Well I guess to interpret this for you they're illustrating how the N Korean regime operates: The dictator & his wife shower themselves in gold dust while the masses starve.
That purse is kind of symbolic of other countries who treat their own in similar fashion: e.g. Gov't agencies who abuse taxpayer money by spending on lavish vacations, wives of leaders who spend in the most expensive shops, gov't workers who vote themselves pay raises annually despite how poorly the economy is doing while taking money under the table from corporations & other entitites seeking to influence them... that kind of stuff
Yes, heaven forbid you find out what's going on in the rest of the world. You know, like how the wife of the leader of one of the poorest countries in the world is carrying around a handbag that the average family couldn't afford with a year's salary because the country puts all of it's money into the military while it's people starve.
No, there's no need to care about any of that. Let's get back to 'murica.
You answered your own question... MSNBC
@DP: Yeah, I don't CARE!!! But, that doesn't mean I don't stay INFORMED!!! I read everything I can find on North Korea, I just don't care about the goings on within their society.
It looks like a cheap, North Korean knock-off.
I'm hoping she only thinks it's the real thing.
They dug her out of a N Korean school that preps women for marrying politicians. Real or fake, this is possibly first thing she has ever been able to call hers.
Looks like Democracy is slowly coming........
If by "Democracy", you mean access to black market goods through a corrupt sociopolitical system, then yes.
Wasn't Michelle "the Entitled" photoed wearing a $6-7,000 blazer? 100 million on govt welfare programs, 23 million unemployed, underemployed or no longer looking......I know, it's all different.....
Informed voters, please google "obama ad fact check" and see for yourself how nearly every fact checking source eviscerates the Obama campaign for either grossly twisting the truth or flat out lying to all of us in his campaign ads. Truly Presidential. Charlatan in Chief!
Google "Romney ad fact check" while you're at it to see all the lies and distortion HIS camp has put out. What does any of that have to do with the North Korean first lady having a handbag that costs the same as what a laborer there earns in a year?
I think you better look outside on your lawn, the aliens have arrived! Have you been beamed on board and probed sexually by ET yet? Well, if anyone knows that it's just a comspiracy perpetraited by the man to keep a millionaire down, it's you! Keep sipping the Kool-Aid, no big gulps now, and your immunity to reality will keep you safe and warm. Wait, what's that noise outside...?
Only because I know very little about North Koreas' new First Lady, I'll give the benefit of doubt. It's possible the purse was a gift...
She was a singer before she got married. This is just hype from the media. I'm sure that she has plenty of purses and clothes that are super expensive just like all of the pop stars here do.
Well, judging by her basement chic looking dress and 1940's peekaboo shoes and the passé white hose on her chubby legs, the handbag is probably a knockoff "made in China".
Uh-oh. The fashion police are after her now.
But in NK, they can "disappear" you.
I saw a purse just like that at Burlington Coat factory last year and at Kohls last week. I thought about buying it in white. Seriously we can't imagine for just a second that the purse is a knockoff? It doesn't even look like the Dior it's supposed to be it has a top flap. What a bunch of hooey.
Probably a knockoff from China.
And what about Mooch-elle Zero? Five Thousand Dollar Dresses. Multiplied MILLION Dollar Vacations. $100 a Pound White House steak, etc, etc...Stop The Hypocriscy.
Now that you've blown your covert ops in the First Lady's closet and the White House kitchen, we can now return to the important topic of Mrs. Kim's handbag which looks like a stylish insulated cooler and no doubt holds a cache of her husband's favorite Klondike Bars.
I lived in South Korea for a year and you can get a clone of any purse, handbag, shoes, etc. for $50 +/-. They even clone the authentication tags. I saw a guy with a Mercedes Benz emblem hanging around his neck but that din't mean he was a 350SL. More MSNBC useless news!
lol
Look at the blowup photo of the clutch and look at the original at Saks. You can see the difference. Seven diamond stitched in the original as opposed to five in hers. It's a fake wanna be.
Who cares if the man thinks enough of his wife to spend some money on her .. Good for her and him .. Anyone that runs a country gives their spouse nice things . Get some real news on here and let the two newly weds alone .
first...why is this news worthy?? second..probably a cheap china knock-off like you see at USA flea markets.thirdly....who really cares......
It's newsworthy because the article is trying get self-centered "center of the universe" readers like you to realize that North Korea, to me, is a lot scarier than the Middle East precisely because they have a "leader" who is ENTIRELY out of touch with his people. North Korean people are starving because they have a totally insulated leader who believes that his people are merely objects to make money for him to buy more nuclear weapons. Uh, kind of important, don't ya think? Why are so many Americans all about "me, me, me, me?" This is NOT an article about a purse!
Christian Dior Makes those purses in many fabrics all the way from cheap plastic to expensive animal furs and skins. So if it looks like a $50.00 purse it could be or it might be one made from rare animal skins. this one they said was made from Lamb skin which could account for the price tag. Personally i dont think it is worth more than $40.00
Yes it is a shame that she is sporting a decadent Capitalist symbol while her people suffer but look at Assad's wife and her reported shopping sprees. That is the way of dictators, despots and their ilk. But in another vein you have to admit the woman is looking good!
She was a dancer at the Cabaret Royale men's club.
...
Rank has its privileges.
Our first lady gets to vacation in Spain - with the kids.
Seize the opportunity.
Let the rest go pound salt.
...
So what is the big deal... oh, because that is the average annual salary for American workers when Obuma gets done picking their pockets. At least we won't sink below eating grass and dirt. We have plenty of that.
I also got a kick from seeing the fat general on the left playing angry birds on his tablet.
"Lil Kim" is looking more and more like "Baby Doc" Duvalier of Haiti!
She probably has the North Korean "Football" in her purse with all the launch codes and a 9mm. Otherwise, I dont see this as newsworthy.
Compared to Queen Michelle, $1600.00 is a bargain.
Compared to the Crown Princess Lady Romney's gold encusted and diamond studded collection, $1,600 is a REAL bargain. Course... the First Ladies purse probably wasn't bought from tax credits Romney received from exporting American Jobs to another country.
Don't forget the multi-million dollar dressage horse that's just a little hobby.
The Romneys deducted $77,000 for their horse worth 500K and building elevators for their cars. Nothing the Obamas or the Korean gal has can compare. If Romney wins we'll have true royalty.
first off, there wasn't a damn politician one that didn't make money sending these jobs overseas, and the funny part is more went to mexico than over seas so get a map and find that mexico is south of the United States not over any sea.
ItsAboutTime-3704531- the Obamas may not pay for it with tax credits but all of his food and education came from the Hawaiian welfare system all for him to grow up and be a senator in Illinois not even from that state, he is a career politician and hasn't ever EARNED a wage hes been paid by our tax dollars the entire time.