North Korea's Secretive Leader Said to Have Become Father

TV images have prompted reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may have become a father.

The secretive leader's wife, Ri Sol-ju, appeared to be pregnant in mid-December when she attended a memorial service for her husband's late father, Kim Jong-Il.

However, images of her attending an official New Year's party showed her wearing a well-fitted two-piece skirt suit with no physical sign of pregnancy.

International media say that speculation has been  fuelled by an official performance, which included an all-woman band singing a version of the Christmas favourite When a Child is Born made popular by Johnny Mathis.

A South Korean government official, quoted by Yonhap news agency, said Ri "appeared to have already given birth, based on analysis of the TV images".