Kim Jong Un Sister Promoted To a Position on the State Affairs Amid Raft of Changes; What Does This Mean for Kim Yo Jung?

The most influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been named to the country's highest governing body.

(Photo : Valery Sharifulin\TASS via Getty Images)
North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong seen at Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.

Kim Jong Un's Sister Promoted to a Position on the State Affairs Commission

In a recently published article in MSN News, in the midst of a slew of reforms authorized by the Supreme People's Assembly, the rubber-stamp parliament, Kim Yo Jong, a major advisor to her brother, was elevated to a seat on the State Affairs Commission.

Nine members of the commission were fired, including Pak Pong Ju, one of the panel's vice presidents, and diplomat Choe Son Hui, a rare senior woman in the North's hierarchy who played a significant role in talks with the United States.

On Thursday, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper published photographs of the eight new nominees, with Kim Yo Jong standing out for her youth and as the only woman among them, according to a recently published news article in France24.

Kim Yo Jong Replaced Her Aunt, Kim Jong Un's Closest Aide

According to North Korea research organization 38 North, Kim Yo Jong, who succeeded her aunt Kim Kyong Hui, a strong supporter of her father, was already a prominent figure as vice-director of the isolated regime's Propaganda and Agitation Department (PAD).

There is little solid information on the secluded nation's main actors. Kim Yo Jong, 30, on the other hand, is said to be one of Kim Jong Un's closest adviser and confidant: the two share a mother and allegedly lived together when attending a boarding school in Berne, Switzerland.

Her precise political position, as well as the prospect that she could one day replace her brother, a transfer that would give the socially conservative North its first female leader, has long been a source of discussion, according to a report published in TIME.

Kim Yo Jong as a Strong Leader

In comments broadcast by state media, Kim Yo Jong has made vehement denunciations of Washington and Seoul, especially ahead of the North blowing up a liaison office on their side of the border that the South had constructed and paid for.

Her status as a deputy department director of the governing Workers' Party's Central Committee provided such statements some uncertainty, and she explicitly stated that she was speaking in a personal capacity in several instances. Her formal status has grown and decreased throughout time, but her current SAC position is by far her most senior, according to a published report in BBC News.

Moreover, she was a significant figure during her father's burial in 2011, and she attended the 7th Party Congress (WPK), the first major gathering of the party, political, and military leaders convened under Kim Jong Un after a 36-year gap. In January 2017, the United States sanctioned seven North Korean officials for ongoing and severe human rights violations and censorship operations.

Kim Jong Un's position has been solidified by Kim Yo Jong's ascension, which has concentrated authority within his inner circle and close family members. North Korean observers saw her elevation to the top position of the PAD in 2015 as an attempt to cement the young leader's authority, according to South Korean publication Daily NK at the time.