The ugly truth behind the rise of Kim Yo-jong
Rumours of Kim Jongun’s death have been greatly exaggerated: according to South Korea’s national security adviser, the North Korean leader is “alive and well”. In a CNN interview on Sunday, Moon Chung-in refuted the conjecture that Kim is seriously ill or dead, saying he seemed to be holed up in the North Korean resort town of Wonsan. The man’s just taking it easy, apparently; overseeing gulags can get exhausting..
If Kim really is OK it might leave some people rather disappointed. Kim’s vanishing act has pushed his little sister, Kim Yo-jong, into the spotlight. She has become something of an internet pinup (quarantine is doing strange things to us all), and there has been excited speculation that she might become the Kim family dynasty’s first female leader. This would set an empowering precedent for little girls dreaming of one day becoming lady-dictators with a passion for crimes against humanity! “North Korea … is one of the most male chauvinistic societies in the world, but bloodline supplemented by status in the Korea Workers’ party supercedes gender,” one expert told Bloomberg.
It has long been rumoured that Yojong,
who is sometimes described as the Ivanka Trump of North Korea, is the brains behind her brother’s brawn. Little is known about Yo-jong; even her age is unclear, although she is believed to be in her early 30s. However, in recent years she has started to venture on to the world stage, representing Kim at the 2018 Winter Olympics and publicly praising Donald Trump. If something were to happen to big bro she’s the obvious choice for supreme leader; Kim’s male relatives are either too young or uninterested. His big brother, Kim Jong-chul, seemingly stays out of politics, preferring to play guitar and
obsess over Eric Clapton. Meanwhile Yo-jong has also already proved herself equal to any man: in 2017 the US treasury department blacklisted her for “severe human rights abuses”. What an absolute #girlboss.