The Mystery Of The Love Triangle Of Kim Jong-un, Ri Sol-ju, And The Korean Spice Girls

Hyon Song-wol (Twitter @ciudadfutura)

JAKARTA - The mysterious power in Kim Jong-un's inner circle appears to be shifting. The new drama in North Korea's ruling dynasty erupted to the surface.

Two ambitious women in Jong-un's life, his wife Ri Sol-ju and sister Kim Yo-jong, appear to have been kicked out by the former lover of the president - one of the country's leading pop stars.

Ri Sol-ju (31) has not been seen in public for nine months. The 36-year-old leader is often accompanied by his younger sister Kim Yo-jong when attending state events.

However, Yo-jong has also now disappeared from public view. The glamorous Hyon Song-wol is increasingly being seen next to Jong-un.

This of course led to speculation that there may have been a dispute between them. Has Song-wol replaced the role of the dictator's younger sister?

"The positive theory is that the leader grows and becomes more independent than before," wrote South Korean journalist Wang Son-taek on the NK News website.

“This means that Kim Yo-jong is now on the right path towards building his own leadership path and is very much supported by his older brother.

Hyon Song-wol is the leader of The Moranbong Band - also known as the Moran Hill Orchestra. All members of this girl group were personally selected by Kim Jong-un and they are called the "North Korean version of Spice Girls".

North Korean cultural commentators noted that the group emerged in 2012, around the same time as the new wave in South Korean pop known as Hallyu, or Korean Wave, and especially Psy, who went global in the Gangnam style.

Interestingly, a year after the group exploded onto the public stage, a South Korean newspaper reported that Hyon Song-wol was shot dead for selling sex tapes featuring her and her group members.

The fact that seven years later he is sharing the stage with the supreme leader is an example of how confusion and misinformation have become the hallmark of Pyongyang soap operas.

Peter Ward, a British researcher in North Korea based in Seoul, told The Times that people like Kim and don't like him all the time, and that's part of his style of power: “People become famous, then they disappear or they become less prominent for no apparent reason, and then they may bounce back.

"One or all of these women may be at a different stage for no reason that seems important," she added, "and none of these are likely to end up in very serious trouble anytime soon."

Song-wol herself is not just anyone in North Korea. Besides the leader of The Moranbong Band, he also has an important position in the government. This 42-year-old woman is a member of the central committee of Kim Jong-un's Korean Workers' Party.

Song-wol's meeting with Jong-un took place when the dictator returned from school in Switzerland in 2011. However, Jong-un's father, Kim Jong-il, disagreed with the relationship.

Song-wol eventually married a military officer, while Jong-un married Jol-su and had three children. However, the South Korean media often herald that Jong-un is still dating Song-wol.