Sister act: North Korean leader keeps it in the family
Kim Jong-un’s younger sister takes her place with dignitaries Show of diplomacy could challenge hardline US policies
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo Jong arrives at Jinbu station to attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s younger sister took her place among dignitaries from around the world, including US vice-president Mike Pence, at the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics yesterday in an unprecedented visit to South Korea.
The trip by Kim Yo Jong is the latest move in an extraordinary show of Olympic diplomacy with Seoul that could prove to be a major challenge to the Trump administration’s hardline Korea policies.
As the opening ceremony began, she and South Korean president Moon Jae-in exchanged a historic handshake and spoke briefly.
She and Kim Yong Nam, the North’s 90-year-old nominal head of state, were seated behind Mr Moon and his wife, while Mr Pence and his wife were seated beside the Moons and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
At the age of 30, Kim Yo Jong is quite possibly the most powerful woman in North Korea. Just a few years younger than her brother, she is believed to be his closest confidant and is a senior cadre in North Korea’s ruling party.
Her arrival on Kim Jong-un’s private jet with 22 officials was broadcast live on South Korean television. Looking confident and relaxed, she had a brief meeting at the airport with South Korean officials, including unification minister Cho Myoung-gyon, before being whisked away in a black limousine and catching the high-speed train to the mountains of Pyeongchang.
As a sign of her status, the elder Kim Yong Nam offered her the seat of honour at the airport meeting, but she politely declined.
The trip comes amid a flurry of activity following Kim Jongun’s surprise proposal on New Year’s Day to send a delegation of athletes, officials, entertainers and cheering groups to the Olympics.
His decision to dispatch his sister to the games is all the more significant since Kim Jong-un himself hasn’t set foot outside North Korea or met a single head of state since he assumed power upon the death of their father, Kim Jong-il, in late 2011. His single-minded pursuit of a nuclear arsenal to counter what he sees as the threat of invasion by the US has increased tensions not only with his rivals but also with primary trading partner China and with Russia, once a key benefactor.
The North’s Olympic “detente” is a striking shift in tactics.
This is the first time a member of the Kim dynasty has travelled to South Korea, though their grandfather, Kim Il Sung, went to areas occupied by his troops south of what is now the Demilitarised Zone during the 1950-53 Korean War.
Kim Yo Jong has been rapidly rising within the North’s power structure and is believed to be in charge of shaping her brother’s public persona. But she has generally remained safely cloaked in her brother’s shadow. This is her first high-profile international appearance.
Kim Yo Jong has been rapidly rising within the North’s power structure and is believed to be in charge of shaping her brother’s public persona
It’s billed as a gathering of the world’s finest sporting talent but, behind the scenes at this snow-covered mountain resort, what’s really going on?
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my underground lair,” cackled Kim Yo Jong, aka Kim Jong-un’s sister, aka Rosa Klebb, before turning on a startled US vicepresident Mike Pence, just coming round after the stadium’s seats had suddenly turned into a slide and sent him, Queen Silvia of Sweden, and other assorted world leaders tumbling into the secret base below. “So, Trump Mini-me, you think you can threaten the Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, the Heaven-sent Hero, the Highest Incarnation of …”
“Not so fast, Rosa,” quipped a smartly dressed Frenchman. “The name’s Macron, Emmanuel Macron.” Kim gasped in horror. “I thought you weren’t coming,” she shrieked. Macron stepped forward, stretching out his hand.
“No, no, not the handshake of doom,” Kim cried. “I saw what you did to Dr Evil, we surrender.” A thousand henchmen and women sighed in unison and started packing up the base, plans for world domination foiled again.