In the latest trickle of information from notoriously opaque North Korea, the country's supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, was confirmed by state media to be married—and to a woman named Ri Sol Ju. An unidentified woman was pictured in recent weeks attending official events by Kim's side, prompting rampant speculation as to her identity. Her status as Kim's wife was announced on Wednesday during a state-run KRT broadcast of an amusement park opening ceremony attended by the couple. The state-run Korean Central News Agency followed up with an article on the park's opening, slipping in that "Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju were present at the ceremony." The unveiling of the mystery woman has not given rise to any verifiable details about her. Instead, it spawned waves of intense speculation about her identity. Two prevailing theories are circulating in South Korean media. In the first theory, Kim's wife is actually named Hyon Song-wol. She is the lead singer in a musical group and is being referred to as the "horse-like lady" from her appearance in a music video of a song with the same name that is popular in North Korea. The 'horse-likeness' refers to the strong work ethic of North Korean women. South Korean media speculate that Hyon previously dated Kim and eventually married a military officer. It is rumored that Kim later forced the couple to split in order to restart his relationship with Hyon, and they now have a three-year-old son together. The second theory identifies the woman as Ri So Ju, a singer in the Unhasu Orchestra, a group said to be favored by Kim Jong Un, and has made several overseas performances. It is speculated that Ri hails from an elite family, with her father working as a professor and her mother as an obstetrician. Little is known about Kim, in the reclusive country known for its impenetrability from the outside world. But the announcement is part of a trend of greater openness under the recent leadership of Kim, according to Choi Jong Kun, associate professor at Yonsei University in South Korea. Kim became the third generation of his family to head North Korea, following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in December. He is the youngest son of Kim Jong Il and thought to be in his late twenties. His father had ruled North Korea for 17 years after inheriting power from the country's founding father, Kim Il Sung. The wives and mistresses of the leaders were often shrouded in mystery. "Since he got his power, this guy has been pretty different than his father in terms of handling the media," said Choi. "To me, revealing his wife's identity is no surprise," he added, given the country's recent track record of making information available about major state events. Choi cited North Korea's reporting of its rocket launch failure in April as an example. The term "failure" was used in the official press release, which Choi said was the first time North Korea admitted failure. He added that the announcement came four hours after the launch attempt, which Choi considered "real-time" for North Korea. Choi also pointed out the military reshuffling earlier this month was reported overnight. Not only does this demonstrate greater openness, but also that Kim has a "strong power base" and does not need to bury such news, he said. He attributed the more open approach to Kim's education in Switzerland. "I expect that next week Kim will announce a son," Choi joked.