Not a whole lot is known about Ri Sol-ju, the First Lady of North Korea - and that's exactly how Kim Jong-un wants it to be.

It's not even just that Comrade Ri Sol-ju doesn't often appear at public events, which she very rarely does. The world doesn't even really know for sure when she became the dictator's wife.

An article published in Fox News says this is all part of the North Korean government's strategy. The less the world knows about the ins and outs of the administration, the better.

"North Korea never goes out of its way to clarify for the rest of the world the titles, roles and responsibilities of anyone in North Korea. It considers confusing the rest of the world to be an important element of its security strategy," Eric Foley, CEO and co-founder of the Voice of the Martyrs Korea, told Fox News.

"Regime watchers are always left piecing clues together about who is in charge of what, and why, and for how long."

Ri was identified as Kim Jong-Un's wife in 2012 but the couple probably married years before that (some say in 2009 or 2010).

The First Lady's real name is also not Ri. She is sometimes referred to as Lee Seol-ju but her real name is said to be Hyon Song-wol.

She is a former pop singer and was previously part of a band.

Her family is reportedly fairly prestigious. Her mother is a doctor and her dad a professor.

Ri is said to have studied singing in China and travelled to South Korea as part of a cheerleading squad.

The couple is rumoured to have three children but no one really knows for sure.

The children were likely born in 2010, 2013 and the third one within the past couple of years.

Rumour has it that Ri was coerced into having the third child in the hopes Jong-un would have a male descendant.

The state of North Korea has never confirmed the children's identity nor gender but former NBA player and close friend of the dictator Dennis Rodman said in 2013 that he held one of the couple's baby daughters, Ju-ae, and called Kim "a good dad".

The mystery surrounding the children is said to exist so allow "the dynasty to select whichever child Kim wants as a successor", as Foley told Fox News.

"If the regime confirms first ladies, it would have to explain why Kim Jong-un's mother was not Kim Jong Il's wife but one of his consorts, and why more legitimate heirs were passed up," he said.

Ri makes the occasional public appearance, which some experts claim is so that the administration can appeal to a broader millennial base. She mostly accompanies her husband to military events.

Women in North Korea are said to be encouraged to emulate her hairstyle and fashion, which mostly consists of tailored, pastel-coloured suit dresses.