Kim’s sister’s rise in politics shows his trust in her

SEOUL: With her elevation to North Korea’s powerful politburo, leader Kim Jong-un’s little sister — and chief image-maker — has established herself as the most powerful woman in the nucleararmed state’s political hierarchy.

Analysts said Kim Yo-jong’s promotion to membership of the North’s top decision-making body underlines the level of trust her brother places in one of his closest aides and confidantes.

Ruling North Korea has always been a family business, but one where the substantial personal benefits are matched by the potential for a catastrophic, and sometimes fatal, fall from grace.

Jong-un’s half-brother, Jongnam, died in agony at a Malaysian airport this year, poisoned by nerve agent-wielding assassins in a hit that watchers said must have been approved by the leader.

Yo-jong is believed to be in her late 20s, making her the youngest member of the reshuffled Workers’ Party politburo.

She is the only one of Jong-un’s siblings to hold an official title and, in a family complicated by their father Kim Jong-il’s marriages and partnerships, enjoys a special relationship with her brother — they share the same mother.

“They share a lifelong bond and her promotion to the politburo means Jong-un has complete trust in her,” said Professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies here.

“She could take over from him in the event of his absence.”

Like her brother, Yo-jong was partly educated in Switzerland and her first appearance in North Korea’s state media was in 2009 when she accompanied her father to an agricultural university.

She became a regular member of Jong-il’s entourage until his death in 2011 and featured prominently in official photos of the funeral, mourning with her brother.

After Jong-un took over the leadership, her career in the party propaganda department progressed in leaps and bounds.

Watchers speculate that Yojong is being groomed to play the same leadership role as her once powerful aunt, Kim Kyong-hui, a close aide to her brother and late leader Jong-il for decades. AFP