North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, was recently repromoted to the position of alternate member of the Politburo, one of Pyongyang’s most powerful decision-making bodies. She was removed from that post in April 2019, most likely as punishment after negotiations with President Trump collapsed during the Hanoi summit. Kim Yo Jong had helped jump-start talks with Seoul and Washington after she led a North Korean delegation to South Korea during the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
Now, Kim Yo Jong is back in favor, and it is speculated that she could even take over if Kim Jong Un met an untimely demise. But who exactly is this powerful woman?
Not much is known about Kim Yo Jong’s childhood other than that she was educated in Switzerland. She first really came into the public scene during the funeral for her father Kim Jong Il in 2011. Since then, Kim Yo Jong has steadily risen in power, taking on many responsibilities, including secretarial duties as her brother’s trusted aide.
For instance, she accompanied Kim Jong Un to the summits with Trump in Singapore and Hanoi. Kim Yo Jong helped make sure her brother was safe from harm or spies. For example, she collected his cigarette butts to ensure no foreign intelligence agencies could get any DNA or health information from them and also switched out which pen he would use. These tasks may seem menial, but they are important to preserving secrecy, tasks Kim Jong Un might not trust to many others.
In addition, Kim Yo Jong might be involved with Offices 38 & 39, which engage in illicit activities to generate hard cash for the family and regime. These offices oversee currency counterfeiting, cybertheft, arms sales, and drug smuggling to help North Korea mitigate the impact of sanctions. In addition, she is also the first vice director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department.
From her post at the Propaganda and Agitation Department, Kim Yo Jong shapes North Korean propaganda, including portraying and venerating Kim Jong Un in a similar manner to their grandfather Kim Il Sung. She also used the department to make her first public statements under her own name — a sure indicator she has a hand in policymaking.
For example, Kim Yo Jong wrote a response in North Korea’s media in March 2020 sneering at South Korean complaints about Pyongyang’s resumption of missile tests. More recently, she also was the official to respond to Trump’s offer of coronavirus aid by turning it down.
Finally, there are two other important signs of Kim Yo Jong’s power. First, Kim Yo Jong herself is being idolized along with her brother in their cult of personality, and second, she has actually issued military orders.
While the supreme leader is always shown constantly to the North Korean public, many photos have shown Kim Yo Jong and Kim Jong Un next to each other as they inspect various facilities. Moreover, the imagery used to hearken back to the days of their grandfather includes Kim Yo Jong. For example, Kim Il Sung used to be shown riding white horses with his wife at Mount Paektu, which is the sacred birthplace of North Korea in its history and myth. Now, propaganda photos show Kim Jong Un and his wife accompanied by Kim Yo Jong riding white horses at the same mountain.
Furthermore, Kim Yo Jong issued her first military orders in December 2019. According to DailyNK, these directives were made to the North Korean Army’s all-female units. Among the orders were instructions to care for the well-being of female soldiers, such as through paying attention to foot pain and humidity in work sites.
If she does continue to rise, the question will be how long she lasts. The siblings of previous ruling Kims have helped them keep power but never got power themselves. North Korean experts are also divided on whether a woman could ever take command. After all, North Korea is very traditional, and it would be very hard for other Pyongyang elites to accept her as supreme leader. It is very probable that she would be pushed aside once her brother has an old enough male heir.
However, Kim Jong Un is an overweight smoker who is likely not in the best health. If he died before he has an eligible son, it is still possible Kim Yo Jong could become the successor. She is likely ruthless enough to seize and consolidate power if enough of the elites or military would back her. Remember that in 2017, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned her “in response to the regime’s ongoing and serious human rights abuses and censorship activities.” She’s no stranger to the cold instruments of hard power.
Ultimately, Kim Yo Jong is someone to keep an eye on, no matter where she ends up. Now, she is a leader to take seriously.
John Dale Grover is an assistant managing editor at the National Interest and a Korean studies fellow at the Center for the National Interest.
