Images of North Korean Leader\'s Wife Fuel Pregnancy Rumors

SEOUL, South Korea - The wife of the young North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, might have recently given birth, South Korean journalists reported on Thursday.

The leader's wife, Ri Sol-ju, had recently sported what appeared to be a baby bump. When she appeared at an event televised by North Korea's state broadcaster on Dec. 17, she was wearing a billowing Korean dress around a seemingly pregnant belly.

Video from North Korean television showed Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, at an event honoring the leader's father and grandfather last month.

But when she appeared with Mr. Kim at concert on New Year's Day, there was no sign of a swollen belly in < a href="http://youtu.be/opIJS0iLEoY">video of the event, and Ms. Ri looked noticeably slimmer, wearing a tighter dress.

Video from North Korean television showed the country's first couple at a New Year's Day concert.

That triggered reports in the South Korean media suggesting that she might have given birth in the interim.

A screenshot of a report from the South Korean broadcaster SBS on the changing waistline of North Korea's first lady.

North Korea's state media has not reported that Mr. Kim is a father and made no mention of the speculation that Ms. Ri might have been pregnant last month.

For decades, North Korea's ruling family has kept the private lives of its members under the wraps, so much so that most ordinary North Koreans had never seen their country's first lady when Mr. Kim's father, Kim Jong-il, was in power. After Mr. Kim took over following his father's death in December 2011, Ms. Ri began accompanying her husband to arts performances, school visits and amusement park inspections.

Still, outside analysts don't know for sure how old she is or when she married Mr. Kim. Some South Korean officials believe that Mr. Kim turns 29 next Tuesday.