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What happened to Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of the North Korean leader?
That’s a question many who look to the cloistered and nuclear-armed country are asking after she failed to appear in outright leader Kim Jong Un’s newly launched lineup for the country’s powerful Politburo in recent days.
Some say Kim Jong Un may have demoted his sister over general policy failures. Others, however, believe that he may be concerned about his rapid rise and rising profile as he tries to bolster his domestic authority in the face of mounting economic challenges.
Rumors that Kim Yo Jong is his brother’s heir apparent could be dangerous because “they raise the issue of Kim’s control over power and health within North Korea,” said Oh Gyeong-seob, an analyst at the Korean Institute for Seoul National Unification. This, he said, is the reason why Kim Jong Un is holding back his rise to power.
The fact comes as a surprise because Kim Yo Jong, who became an alternate Politburo member last year, was expected to receive full membership in the bureau during a Workers’ Party congress that ended on Tuesday (local time).
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Politburo membership is seen as crucial for high-level officials hoping to prosper in Kim Jong Un’s government because he has made key decisions at office meetings, including the 2013 decision to execute his powerful uncle Jang Song Taek and the purge of warlord Ri in 2012. Yong Ho.
When the eight-day congress, the first of its kind since 2016, opened last week, Kim Yo Jong, who is believed to be in his 32s, sat on the leadership podium, standing out among the party’s cadres, a often elderly and mostly male. But when Congress announced on Monday a list of 30 full and alternate Politburo members, including 37-year-old Kim Jong Un, his name was not there.
Patrick Semansky / AP
After it was discovered that Kim Yo Jong was not in North Korea’s newly launched lineup for its powerful Politburo, there has been much speculation about the woman widely viewed as North Korea’s number two.
Kim Yo Jong has not been purged or forced to leave politics, a fate that some officials under Kim Jong Un have known, and she still retains her membership in the party’s Central Committee, also a high-level body. But when she issued a statement criticizing South Korea on Wednesday, state media identified her as a “deputy department director” of the party, a rank lower than her previous title of “first deputy department director.”
Kim Jong Un is urging his 25 million people to join his leadership in overcoming what he has called their nation’s “worst difficulties.” North Korea has faced economic shocks related to the coronavirus, a series of natural disasters last summer, and persistent U.S.-led sanctions over its pursuit of illicit nuclear weapons. During the congress, Kim promised to expand his nuclear arsenal and build a stronger, more self-sufficient economy.
“The purpose of the congress is to solidify the leadership of Kim Jong Un. If Kim Yo Jong had become a full member of the Politburo, all eyes would have been on her … and Kim Jong Un probably felt that as a burden. ”Ko Young-hwan, former deputy director of the Institute for National Security Strategy , a think tank led by the South Korean spy agency said during a television news program on Monday.
Uncredited / AP
Kim Jong Un is urging his 25 million people to join his leadership in overcoming what he has called their nation’s “worst difficulties.”
Kim Yo Jong, previously little known to outsiders, has exploded politically since his brother inherited power after his father, Kim Jong Il, died in late 2011.
The current Kims are the third generation of their family to rule North Korea, and their leadership is based on a cult of personality established after their grandfather Kim Il Sung founded the country in 1948. Their mythical “paektu” lineage, called thus by the most sacred of the North mountain, it allows that only the direct members of the family rule the country.
Kim Yo Jong rose to international prominence after his brother’s high-risk nuclear diplomacy with US President Donald Trump and other world leaders in 2018 and 2019. At those meetings, his proximity to Kim Jong Un sparked speculation. that she was serving as her brother’s chief operating officer. personal.
In South Korea, she built an image as a “messenger of peace” after attending the opening ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, becoming the first member of the North’s ruling family to visit the South since. the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. .
Bae Jae-man / AP
North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong has tremendous influence in the lonely country.
Last year, however, it abruptly changed course by launching harsh tirades against South Korea and pressuring the United States to make concessions amid stalled nuclear diplomacy. North Korean state media said she was in charge of relations with South Korea and outside experts speculated that she might also be handling US affairs.
In his statement on Wednesday, he criticized South Korea for provoking the North by announcing that it had detected intelligence that North Korea held a military parade or a rehearsal for such a parade this week.
When unconfirmed global rumors about Kim Jong Un’s health escalated last year, some observers said Kim Yo Jong was next in line to rule North Korea if his brother was incapacitated. South Korea’s spy agency later said that she was practically North Korea’s number two official, but had not been anointed as her brother’s heir.
Evan Vucci / AP
North Korea and the United States are still embroiled in a long-standing dispute over the tiny nation’s nuclear program. The U.S.-led sanctions on North Korea are crippling its economy.
“Kim Jong Un probably blamed his sister for worsening (external) ties, as she was unsuccessful in relations with the United States and South Korea,” said Kim Yeol Soo, an analyst at the Korean Institute of Military Affairs. South.
Whatever the reason for his apparent loss of the Politburo post, many experts say his political influence is likely to remain unchanged thanks to his direct link to the Paektu lineage. There is also a feeling that Kim Jong Un could eventually give him another high-profile job.
Oh, the analyst, said that Kim Yo Jong is probably the second most powerful woman in North Korean history after Kim Song Ae, the late second wife of Kim Il Sung.
“Kim Yo Jong can meet and talk with Kim Jong Un freely at any time … so we can’t help but say that he has tremendous influence,” Oh said. “As he grows, his roles will be more important.”
But, he added, his rise could end if he lusts for more power. “She has to be careful with that,” he said.
