North Korea: Kim Yo Jong, sister of Kim Jong Un, promoted to the country’s highest governing body

By Janet D. Peachey Last updated Sep 30, 2021

The announcement – published in North Korean state media KCNA – said Kim yo jong is now a member of the State Affairs Commission (SAC), the country’s governing body headed by his brother.

Kim Yo Jong was already one of the most important political figures and a key adviser to her brother, but a seat on the SAC is the highest official post she has held.

Seven other people have been promoted alongside him as part of a SAC reshuffle, though Kim Yo Jong is the only woman. Nine members have been retired or demoted, including Pak Pong Ju, 82, who is responsible for Kim Jong Un’s economic policy over the past decade.

Ri Pyong Chol, the driver of North Korea weapons program and the top military commander under Kim Jong Un, was demoted. Its place was taken by Military General Pak Jong Chon, who oversaw the development of new weapons for the country.

Earlier this week, Pak oversaw a test of what the North claimed was his first hypersonic missile, which – if true – has the potential to be one of the fastest and most accurate weapons in the world, and could be equipped with a nuclear warhead, experts say.

Resumption of the communication line

News of Kim Yo Jong’s promotion came after Kim Jong Un told the country’s legislature on Wednesday that he would re-establish broken lines of communication with the South in early October, KCNA reported.

Lines are considered important because they can help prevent an accidental military confrontation caused by a misinterpretation or miscalculation of the other party’s action or intention.

In response, the South Korean government said it would start preparations and look forward to the “restoration and stable management” of inter-Korean communications, according to the Unification Ministry.

North Korea cut communication lines in June of last year. The two countries re-established direct communication in July – only to be cut off the following month.

Why is Kim Yo Jong’s promotion important?

Kim yo jong the elevation to the central committee of the country’s decision-makers appears to formally cement its role in North Korea’s leadership.

She is considered one of her brother’s most powerful and trusted confidants. Last year, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service assessed it as being the country’s “de facto second in command” – but his official status has always was not clear.

As North Korea’s chief propagandist, Kim Yo Jong was the face of the country’s delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where she met South Korean President Moon Jae -In. She was credited helping to lay the foundation for first summit between Moon and her brother, for whom she had a seat at the table, and was at Kim Jong Un’s side in singapore when he met then-US President Donald Trump.

In 2020, the South Korean spy agency told lawmakers it had been responsible for relations with the South and the United States.

More recently, as the deputy director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea department, she made scathing public statements on inter-Korean relations, the new Biden administration, and defended North Korea’s missile launches.

Chaos in Korea sees Kim Jong Un's sister come out stronger than ever

Kim Yo Jong last week called on the South to make “the right choice” if it truly wants reconciliation and the development of inter-Korean relations, including another summit. She also warned the United States and South Korea to end their “hostile” policies against North Korea, before talks could resume on a proposal by the South Korean president to declare the end of the war. war between North and South.

But Kim Yo Jong’s ascent to the top has not been smooth.

Earlier this year, she was removed from her post as an alternate member of the powerful North Korean political bureau and demoted from “first deputy head of department” to “deputy head of department.”

Analysts at the time said his apparent demotion may have more to do with Kim Jong Un’s emphasis on reshuffling the politburo to include more economic experts. Others have speculated that she may have taken the heat for her handling of inter-Korean relations last summer, when she asked North Korea’s armed forces to blow up a joint $ 8 million liaison office in Kaesong City to express Pyongyang’s dissatisfaction with Seoul.

CNN’s Joshua Berlinger contributed reporting.

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North Korea: Kim Yo Jong, sister of Kim Jong Un, promoted to the country’s highest governing body

Resumption of the communication line

Why is Kim Yo Jong’s promotion important?

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