(Seoul), the official Korean Central News Agency announced, Thursday, the appointment of the sister and advisor of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to the country’s highest executive body.
Kim Yo Jong, a chancellor very close to her brother, was promoted to the State Affairs Commission, in a series of changes passed by the Supreme People’s Assembly, with parliament serving as a registry room for the executive branch.
At least nine members of the commission were removed from their posts, including Vice President Pak Bong Joo and diplomat Choi Son Hui, one of the few women holding high positions in the North Korean hierarchy, who played a key role. in negotiations with the United States.
On Thursday, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper published photos of the eight new members, Kim Yoo Jung, who stands out from the crowd as the only woman and her youth.
She was often seen near her brother, with whom she studied in Switzerland, especially during summit meetings with then-US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Her exact political role has long been the subject of speculation. She is sometimes awarded as a possible successor to her brother, making her the first female leader of this socially conservative country.
It was noted by outrageous statements against Washington or Seoul, particularly at the source of Pyongyang’s destruction of the Liaison Office on the northern side of the border, which was built and financed by the South.
However, the significance of these statements remained uncertain given her relatively low position as deputy department director in the Labor Central Committee, and she herself sometimes specified that she was speaking on her behalf.
The 34-year-old’s official rank has fluctuated over time, but her new position in the State Affairs Commission is by far the highest.
