Kim’s sister to visit S. Korea
> But US announces ‘toughest’ sanctions on Pyongyang
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s 28-year-old sister will make her debut on the world stage when she visits South Korea to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics tomorrow, Seoul’s unification ministry said.
She will be the first member of the North’s ruling family ever to do so.
Pyongyang notified Seoul that Kim Yo Jong would be accompanying Kim Yong Nam, North Korea’s nominal head of state, along with Choe Hwi, chairman of the National Sports Guidance Committee, and Ri Son Gwon, who led inter-Korean talks last week, according to the ministry.
The inclusion of Yo Jong in the delegation is “meaningful” as she is not only the sister of the country’s leader but a senior official at the ruling Workers’ Party, the ministry said in a statement yesterday.
But the trip could provide a source of contention between Seoul and Washington, as she was blacklisted last year by the US Treasury Department over human rights abuses and censorship, while Choe is subject to a travel ban under UN Security Council sanctions.
Yo Jong is vice-director of the party’s Propaganda and Agitation Department, which handles ideological messaging through the media, arts and culture.
Choe had previously worked for the same organisation.
Yo Jong was seen in state media on Tuesday greeting a North Korean art troupe that has since departed for the South to stage performances during the Olympics.
“One of the positives of her visit is that she is someone able to deliver a direct message on behalf of Jong Un”, said Shin Beom-Chul, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul.
“What is problematic is that she’s coming with Choe. This raises worries that North Korea likely intends to use this Olympics as a propaganda tool rather than a possible opening to meaningful dialogue with South Korea.”
US Vice-President Mike Pence said yesterday Washington would soon unveil its “toughest sanctions ever” on North Korea, adding that Pyongyang would not be allowed to “hijack” the upcoming Olympics.
Speaking in Japan, Pence pledged that Washington would “intensify its maximum pressure campaign” on the North, working with Tokyo.
“I’m announcing today that the United States will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever,” he said, without giving further details.
A group of 280 North Koreans arrived in South Korea yesterday, one of the largest peacetime crossings of the inter-Korean border, to spur on athletes from the two Koreas at the Games.
The delegation, made up mostly of a 229-member cheer squad, reached a border checkpoint by bus, the unification ministry said.
In addition to the cheering squad, there were 26 taekwondo performers, 21 journalists and four North Korean Olympics committee members, including sports minister Kim Il-Guk, it said.
After security controls the group left for the Olympics venue in Pyeongchang.
At a rest stop along the way, female members of the cheer squad, all donning black fur caps, red coats and ankle boots, waved and smiled at reporters who were trailing them.
“Hello, hello!” one said, giggling shyly before getting back on her bus.
When one reporter asked whether they were fully prepared, another member quipped: “You’ll know once you see. It’s no fun if I tell you everything now.” – Agencies