Kim’s sister on mission to South Korea
Kim Jong-un’s younger sister will meet the leader of South Korea tomorrow as she flies in for the Winter Olympics, leading some to speculate that her brother has entrusted her with a direct message from the North. However, her presence alongside US vice-president Mike Pence at the Games’ opening ceremony will cause headaches, as she is subject to American sanctions.
THE younger sister of Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, will fly into Seoul’s Incheon airport on a private jet today for an unprecedented diplomatic mission that has been met with both scepticism and delight in South Korea.
Kim Yo-jong, 28, and Kim Yong-nam, 90, Pyongyang’s head of state, will lunch tomorrow with South Korean leader Moon Jae-in, at the presidential palace, leading some to speculate that her reclusive brother has entrusted her with carrying a rare direct message.
However, her presence alongside US vice-president Mike Pence in the VIP box for the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony in the mountain village of Pyeongchang this evening has caused a serious protocol headache.
The US slapped sanctions on Ms Kim in January over alleged serious human rights abuses, and both Washington and Tokyo remain wary that her brother’s recent overtures are a ruse to undermine international sanctions over his nuclear and missile programmes.
Both the US and North Korea maintain they do not plan to use the Games to talk to the other side, although neither have ruled it out. Meanwhile, North Korea is keeping its rivals guessing by simultaneously showing two very different faces of its regime.
Yesterday morning, Pyongyang showcased its military might with soldiers goose-stepping alongside its intercontinental ballistic missiles in a ceremonial parade. Meanwhile, in the South, 80 of its female cheerleaders were charming the Olympic Village with a song and dance routine. Dressed in knee-high white boots and bright red uniforms, they made their debut as a traditional marching band in the Olympic co-host city of Gangneung, playing songs including the popular North Korean medley Nice To Meet You.
The band set the stage for the 140-strong Samjiyon Orchestra yesterday evening, who performed folk songs from the North and South, mixed with a dash of western symphonies.
More than 150,000 South Koreans applied for just 1,060 free tickets to the orchestra’s two performances. At the heavily guarded entrance to the venue, a group of old women scurried in gleefully. “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” cried one.
The performers’ presence, and the bombshell of Kim sending his own sister, a trusted aide and a representative of their powerful dynastic bloodline, has been divisive in South Korea.
Just yards from the venue, a small but unruly contingent of protesters waved South Korean and US flags while shouting angry slogans against Kim’s regime, but they were vastly outnumbered by police, who were visibly on edge after several violent scuffles.
Kim Dae-sik, 71, one of the protesters, said he wanted to reclaim the Olympics for the South. “We’ve done all the hard work, and they’re enjoying the feast that we prepared,” he said.
Park Young-hee, 64, opposed the visit. “The UN is applying pressure and sanctions, but our leader is accommodating the North’s requests,” she said. “She [Ms Kim] is just using President Moon to get a breakthrough.”