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N. Korea news anchor: Voice of triumph and doom

10:58am EDT - 01:24

News presennter Ri Chun Hee's bombastic announcement of Pyongyang's sixth nuclear test has put her in the limelight. She first took to the airwaves in 1971, and has become known for her trademark gusto. Lucy Fielder reports.

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Delivering the news of Pyongyang's sixth nuclear test with her usual gusto. Veteran presenter Ri Chun Hee announcing on state television on Sunday that the hydrogen bomb test was 'a perfect success!'. The 74-year-old grandmother is a hero in North Korea. She first took to the airwaves in 1971 after quitting a career in acting. Her dramatic flare sets her apart from other anchors. Announcing North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung's death in 1994, she famously wept on air. When she told the nation of his son Kim Jong Il's demise, she wore funeral garb and trembled with emotion. In this rare interview with China's state-run CCTV, Ri said she saved her gentler side for the North Korean public. But outside the country, it's her apparent enthusiasm about military advances that has propelled her into the limelight. Here she is broadcasting news of North Korea's first satellite launch in 1998. Ri officially retired in 2012. But she comes back now and then to deliver major news; her longevity striking at a time when current leader Kim Jong Un has purged many officials from his father's time.

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N. Korea news anchor: Voice of triumph and doom

10:58am EDT - 01:24