Why Kim Jong Un’s wife is an international celebrity

Kim Jong Un's wife, Ri Sol Ju, has international news and social media outlets busy speculating about the elusive new, First Lady of North Korea. 

Since marrying the DPRK leader last summer, the press, especially those in rival South Korea, are wondering if her presence is a signal that North Korea's young new leader is more progressive than his father.

More from GlobalPost: North Korea: All talk, no action?

Last week, Ri mingled freely with US basketball player Dennis Rodman during his widely publicized visit to Pyongyang, NKNews.org reported.

Others warn her presence and Rodman's visit are merely distractions meant to shift focus from the dictatorship's nuclear ambitions.

Meanwhile, with little information about the new First Lady, South Korean's have taken to social media, freely speculating about everything from her past to whether she has given birth.

The Guardian even went so far as to dub her "the communist Kate Middleton.”

Celebrity watchers have created about a dozen fake Facebook pages for her and she is frequently a trending topic on Korean-language Twitter accounts.