North Korea's 'national treasure' TV anchor 'wept all night' after Kim Jong-un gave her luxury home

North Korea's most famous state TV anchor - dubbed the "pink lady" - has been gifted a luxurious home by leader Kim Jong-un for her steadfast loyalty to the state.

Ri Chun Hi, known for her bright traditional Korean attire and her instantly identifiable and passionate voice, has announced major events for decades, including nuclear and missile tests and the death of a leader. Kim has asked her to continue to serve as the voice of his ruling Workers' Party.

She looked in awe as she was showed around her new two-storey residence by the North Korean leader, grasping his hand as they walked around the living room, and down the stairs to the bedrooms.

Ri said her new home is "like a hotel", adding her and her family “stayed up all night in tears of deep gratitude for the party’s benevolence".

She used her trademark over-the-top tone to narrate a state TV video of Kim showing her round the house - describing her "youthful vigour" of the "old announcer", NK News Colin Zwirko reports.

Experts say Kim is providing special treatment to elite North Koreans to boost their loyalty as he grapples with the pandemic, a troubled economy and a stalemate in nuclear diplomacy with the United States.

“(Kim) said it is the sincerity of the party that it would spare nothing for a national treasure like her, who has worked as a revolutionary announcer for the party for more than 50 years since her girlhood,” the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Kim expressed his “expectation that she would as ever vigorously continue her work in good health as befitting a spokeswoman for the party.”The North Korean leader met Ri ,79, on Wednesday after inaugurating a newly built riverside terraced residential district in the capital Pyongyang, KCNA said. It said houses in the district were presented to Ri and other people who have given distinguished service to the state.

The gifting of the luxurious properties comes ahead of the 110th birthday of Kim's late grandfather, state founder Kim Il Sung. North Korea often opens construction projects to mark key state anniversaries.

The new housing is in the same area where Kim Il Sung's official residence was located until the 1970s.

“By giving houses to those who have been faithful to him, Kim Jong Un would want to further bolster their loyalty and internal unity,” said Moon Seong Mook, an analyst with the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy.

“Ri Chun Hi is a clear example of such people as she’s strongly propagated his nuclear and missile tests and served as a sort of bugler for him.”

Who is Ri Chun Hi?

The 79-year-old joined state TV in the early 1970s when the country was still governed by Kim Il Sung, and she has gradually become the face and voice of the country’s propaganda-driven news broadcasts.

Her close ties to Kim were shown last year at a government foundation anniversary ceremony when she watched from an elevated veranda right next to Kim, and at one point put her hand on his shoulder and whispered to him.

At another event, she was the first person to shake Kim's hand before holding his arm and posing for a group photo.

Moon, the analyst, said Ri receives Cabinet member-level treatment at home, appears healthy and is expected to continue to handle key televised announcements for at least the next few years.

Ri's passionate, effusive style has sometimes generated laughter in other countries. In 2011, a Taiwanese TV station apologised after one of its newsreaders mimicked the tone Ri used when she announced the death of Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il.

Since inheriting power upon his father's death, Kim has led North Korea with absolute authority.

But he is facing one of the toughest moments of his rule after the coronavirus pandemic shocked an economy already in dire shape from mismanagement and US-led sanctions.

Analysts say recent missile tests were meant to advance his weapons arsenal and pressure the US into recognizing North Korea as a nuclear state and relaxing international sanctions.