Pyongyang, April 19: North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un's wife Ri Sol-ju has been elevated to the official post of 'First Lady'. Solju was referred to as the First Lady by the state-run news agency while reporting her visit to a Chinese ballet performance in Pyongyang last week.

Sol-ju was referred to as the "Respected First Lady" by the news presenter, marking a stark contradiction to her earlier reference as "Comrade". The title of First Lady, reports said, has come into use in North Korea after a gap of 40 years.

Analysts claim the move is aimed at showcasing North Korea as a "normal" nation ahead of the scheduled delegation-level bilateral talks with South Korea, followed by the United States of America.

The back-to-back summits will witness "equal participation", which means the Sol-ju is likely to be a part of the delegation if the South Korean First Lady Kim Jong-sook and US' First Lady Melania Trump will be accompanying their respective heads of states.

The upcoming meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un is considered to be an unprecedented step towards calming the brewing tensions between the two nations. Both the leaders reaching the negotiation table was unthought of until the past few months.

The ice in US-North Korea ties was broken during the Winter Olympics, when Seoul send strong feelers to Pyongyang with the aim of reconciling the differences. The feelers were well received by Jong-un who sent his sister Kim Yo-jong, along with the North Korean contingent who participated in the games.

The dates of US-North Korea summit are yet to be released. However, the groundwork has been laid as Washington had dispatched its top official Mike Pompeo, the newly appointed head of CIA, to Pyongyang where a secret meet was held with his counterparts.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 19, 2018 07:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).