Kim Jong-un has made clear his sister Kim Yo-jong is his de facto No 2, what’s next for her?

The 34-year-old, vocal on foreign relations, is now in North Korea’s top decision-making body

Analysts wonder if the nation is preparing for first female leader, one potentially keen on its denuclearisation

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Kim Yo-jong, top official and sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un. Her latest promotion solidifies her position in Pyongyang's circles of power, analysts say. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:00am, 4 Oct 2021Updated: 8:23am, 11 Oct 2021

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful younger sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, solidified her position as the country’s de facto No 2 when she was promoted to the country’s top government decision-making body last week.

The 34-year-old was elected to the State Affairs Commission (SAC) with seven others, all men older than her, while at least nine members were dismissed including diplomat Choe Son-hui, a rare woman of seniority in the North’s leadership and the first vice-foreign minister.

Choe has been blamed for the collapse of talks in Hanoi in 2019 between then President Trump and Kim Jong-un over the North’s denuclearisation in return for sanctions relief and diplomatic ties.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un and his increasingly powerful sister Kim Yo-jong. Photo: AFP

Chaired by Kim Jong-un, the SAC is the North’s top leadership body of state power, mandated to deliberate and decide on major policies, including defence and security issues, and ensure they are implemented.

Professor Yang Moo-jin from Seoul’s University of North Korean Studies said the entry of Kim Yo-jong into the SAC was significant as it “strengthened her roles and made them more concrete”.