WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jung Un is reportedly a father for the first time.

The Washington Free Beacon reports that South Korea’s government confirmed the dictator and his wife, Ri Sol-Ju, gave birth to a child late last year.

“Ri Sol-Ju is a fresh face who is clearly stepping out but it’s much too early to say if her public activity will have any political relevance in North Korea,” a U.S. official told the Free Beacon.

The sex of the child is not known, but it is believed the child is a girl.

“If it was a boy, [the North Koreans] would have made an announcement,” Michael Madden, editor of North Korea Leadership Watch, told the Free Beacon.

Rumors were rampant that the couple was expecting after photos showed what was thought to be a baby bump under Sol-Ju’s coat last October.

The report comes after former NBA star Dennis Rodman visited Kim in North Korea.

“He’s a good guy to me,” Rodman told ABC’s “This Week” about Kim. “As a person to person, he’s my friend. I don’t condone what he does.”

Rodman traveled to North Korea with the Harlem Globetrotters for filming of a new HBO series.

Google chairman Eric Schmidt visited the communist state earlier this year but did not visit Kim.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)