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Agencies

North Korea revealed yesterday that leader Kim Jong-un's younger sister holds the title of a senior party official, confirming her rise through the ranks as a potential key aide to the young leader.
Kim Yo-jong, believed to be 26, made her first public appearance during the funeral of her father and longtime ruler Kim Jong-il in December 2011.
Since then, she has occasionally been seen accompanying her brother to political events and on his "field guidance trips", but without any specific title attached to her name.
That changed yesterday when the North's KCNA news agency listed her as a "vice department director" in the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party.
She was accompanying her brother on a trip to a cartoon film studio founded by their grandfather and the North's founding president, Kim Il-sung.
During the visit, Kim Jong-un urged animators to produce works that were "true to the intention of the party".
It is not clear exactly what Kim Yo-jong's responsibilities are, but analysts suggested she was either in the powerful organisational department handling personnel changes or a propaganda unit.
"There aren't a whole lot of officials at her level that get publicly mentioned in KCNA articles," noted Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
North Korea watchers speculate that Kim Yo-jong is being groomed to play the same leadership supporting role as her powerful aunt, Kim Kyong-hui.
Kim Kyong-hui, 68, was a close aide to her own brother and late leader Kim Jong-il for decades, assuming senior positions in the party and becoming a four-star general in 2010.
But she largely disappeared from public view after her husband Jang Song-thaek was executed last December for charges including treason.
She and Jang had been seen as instrumental in smoothing Kim Jong-un's transition to power, before Jang fell from grace.
Yang Moo-jin said it was still too early to say whether Kim Yo-jong would be able to acquire the same level of power.
"It's hard to gauge where she stands overall. Is she influential enough to communicate with top party officials? Or is she simply working at propaganda operations?" Yang said.
The Kim family has ruled the reclusive, impoverished state for more than six decades with an iron fist and a personality cult.
A resolution adopted at the UN earlier this month condemned the North's human rights record and recommended that its leadership be referred to the International Criminal Court on possible charges of crimes against humanity.
Pyongyang has rejected the resolution as politically motivated, and a series of rallies against it have been held.
Images published by the ruling party's official newspaper Rodong Sinmun yesterday showed thousands marching with banners reading: "Let's become guns and bombs that protect the respected comrade Kim Jong-un!"
The largest rally was held in Pyongyang on Tuesday, with hundreds of thousands of troops and civilians packing the capital's Kim Il-Sung Square.
Kim Jong-un, 31, and his sister were born to Ko Yong-hui, the fourth partner of Kim Jong-il. The pair are believed to have attended the same boarding school in Switzerland with their elder brother Kim Jong-chol.
Kim Jong-chol does not have any publicly identified role in the government.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters


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Rising star of Kim Jong-un’s little sister Kim Yo-jong

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un tours the Sichon Museum of United States War Atrocities accompanied by his younger sister Kim Yo-jong (background). Photo: AP

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Asia

Senior title given to sibling of North Korean dictator is a reflection of increasing influence, though her exact role appears hard to pin down


North Korea revealed yesterday that leader Kim Jong-un's younger sister holds the title of a senior party official, confirming her rise through the ranks as a potential key aide to the young leader.


Rising star of Kim Jong-un’s little sister Kim Yo-jong

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Senior title given to sibling of North Korean dictator is a reflection of increasing influence, though her exact role appears hard to pin down

Senior title given to sibling of North Korean dictator is a reflection of increasing influence, though her exact role appears hard to pin down