North Korean state media confirmed yesterday that its new leader Kim Jong-Un is married, ending weeks of speculation about the identity of a stylish young woman seen accompanying him at official events.

State TV reported that Mr Kim and his wife took part in a ceremony yesterday marking the completion of a Pyongyang amusement park.

“Marshal Kim Jong-Un took part in the opening ceremony of Nungra People’s Amusement Park with his wife, Comrade Ri Sol-Ju,” it said.

A smiling Mr Kim and his wife toured the pleasure grounds and watched a dolphin show “to the tune of joyful music” together with senior party, state and army officials and diplomats, the agency said.

There was no information on how long they have been married.

Mr Kim, believed to be in his late 20s, took over the impoverished nuclear-armed nation when his father Kim Jong-Il died last December. But the intensely secretive state had previously given no details of his private life.

The short-haired woman was first shown with Jong-Un during a concert in Pyongyang on July 6.

She was seen walking next to the leader on July 8 when he visited the mausoleum of his grandfather and the nation’s founder Kim Il-Sung.

On July 15, photos aired by state TV showed her standing close to the new leader during a visit to a kindergarten.

With other officials staying a few steps behind the pair, she was seen smiling while standing immediately behind or next to Jong-Un as he hugged and talked to children.

In contrast to his late father, who spoke just once at a major public event during his 17 years in power, the younger Mr Kim has cultivated an outgoing and informal style.

He has been seen hugging soldiers, posing for photos with troops and linking arms with women.

The chubby young man physically resembles his late grandfather, who still commands respect among some North Koreans for his past as an anti-Japanese guerrilla fighter and national founder. “It’s quite unusual for North Korea to present its leader and wife together in public,” said Yang Moo-Jin of Seoul’s University of North Korean Studies.

“This highlights the regime’s campaign to create a new image for its leader,” he said.

Mr Yang said Mr Kim is also trying to show the people that his leadership is stable.

Analysts say the new leader appears fully in charge of the nation, despite having had relatively little time to prepare for the succession.