North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. Photo / AP
By Julian Robinson
Kim Jong-un's wife has been seen in public for the first time in four months, shutting down speculation she had fallen out with the North Korean dictator.
The pair attended a pop concert to celebrate the country's successful test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The 27-year-old Ri Sol-ju has been seen less and less in public recently and went under the radar for nine months in 2016, the Daily Mail reports.
Leading the bill at the concert was the Moranbong Band, an all-female ensemble that was hand-picked by Kim. Among the numbers performed were Song of Hwasong Rocket and Make Others Envy Us, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported.
The concert took place amid claims the launch was not as successful as first thought with South Korean intelligence saying the North has not secured re-entry capabilities for its ICBM programme.
As well as sitting next to his wife, the dictator was flanked by weapons engineer Jang Chang-ha after promoting him following the successful launch of Hwasong-14, which is believed to be capable of reaching most of Alaska.
Pyongyang has been the scene of a slew of special events to mark the July 4 launch of Hwasong-14.
The concert, which took place on Sunday before a packed crowd, many in uniform, also featured dancing.
Clips of the concert shown on North Korean television on Monday showed the crowd repeatedly cheering and applauding for Kim.
Along with the Moranbong Band, the concert had North Korea's other top headliners - a similar pop ensemble called the Chongbong Band, the uniformed State Merited Chorus and the Wangjaesan Art Troupe.
According to Yonhap, Kim was sitting next to Jang Chang-ha, president of the Academy of National Defense Science - the agency that oversees missile development. He has reportedly been promoted to a colonel general following the launch.
Pyongyang's state media said last week's test successfully verified the atmospheric re-entry of the warhead loaded on the test-launched missile, which experts say may be able to reach the US state of Alaska.
However, Yi Wan-young, who is also a member of South Korean parliament's intelligence committee, told reporters during a televised briefing that South Korea's National Intelligence Service has not been able to confirm that re-entry was successful.
"Considering how North Korea does not have any testing facilities (for re-entry technology), the agency believes (North Korea) has not yet secured that technology," he said.
Yi said the agency believed the missile launched last week was a modified version of the KN-17 intermediate range missile that was tested in May.
He also said the agency had not detected any unusual activity at North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site.
Meanwhile, the US has circulated a draft resolution that would impose new sanctions on North Korea following its test launch, two UN diplomats said last night.
The proposed resolution has been circulated to North Korea's closest ally and main trading partner, China, as well as the three other permanent members of the UN Security Council - Russia, Britain and France, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because consultations have been private.
The spokesman for the US Mission to the United Nations said he had "no comment" on the report.
President Donald Trump searched for consensus with Asian allies on Saturday on how to counter what he called the 'menace' of North Korea.
US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the Security Council last Wednesday that the United States is prepared to use military force to defend the country and its allies against a North Korean ICBM if necessary, but she said the Trump administration prefers to use its clout in international trade to address the growing threat.
Both Trump and Haley put the spotlight on China, with the US leader voicing his frustration in recent days that Beijing hasn't done more.
But during their meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping, "I appreciate the things that you have done relative to the very substantial problem that we all face in North Korea."
Haley was tougher, saying that seven UN sanctions resolutions haven't gotten North Korea to change its "destructive course." She stressed that much of the burden of enforcing the resolutions rests with China because it is responsible for 90 percent of trade with its neighbour.
Declaring that it's time to do more, Haley said the US would put forward a new resolution in the coming days 'that raises the international response in a way that is proportionate to North Korea's escalation.'
She gave no details but hinted at what might be in a new resolution, saying that if the Security Council is united the international community can cut off major sources of hard currency to North Korea, restrict oil to its military and weapons programs, increase air and maritime restrictions, and hold senior officials accountable.
Haley said on Sunday on Face The Nation that the United States is going "to push hard against China" because of its economic control over North Korea. "While they have been helpful, they need to do more," she said.
She said the United States doesn't expect the new resolution being negotiated to be "watered down" - as has happened in the past, mainly by China.
"It will be very telling as to whether China works with us, which we're hoping that they will - and we will know in the next couple of days whether that's going to be the case," Haley said.
It will also be very telling, she said, if Russia stands with North Korea and opposes the US "for the sake of opposing us, or whether everybody is going to say once and for all to North Korea, stop, this is reckless, it's irresponsible, and we're not going to take it anymore."
The US ambassador stressed that the ICBM test raised the conflict over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs to a new level.
China has the ability to pressure Pyongyang, Haley said.
"They know that. We know that, and we need to see some more action going accordingly," Haley said. "And I think the resolution is going to be a really big test on that."
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