In N. Korea, Kim Jong Un’s sister takes political post

North Korea has a new Kim in town: Kim Yo Jong, the ponytailed sister of leader Kim Jong Un, was promoted to a new post within the ruling party of the isolated nation.

Kim Yo Jong, 28, was selected Sunday as an “alternate member” of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee within the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, the North’s official state Korean Central News Agency said.

The Political Bureau exists largely to rubber-stamp Kim Jong Un’s decisions. But as an alternate member, his sister will be able to take part in policy debates, including military issues, according to the website North Korea Leadership Watch.

Kim Yo Jong’s promotion came at a meeting of senior party members as North Korea marked the 20th anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s acceptance of the title of general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea. Kim Jong Il ran the country from 1994 until 2011.

Tuesday is the anniversary of the party’s founding, a date that North Korea could mark by testing a long-range missile capable of striking the U.S., according to analysts and the South Korean and Russian governments.

President Trump and Kim Jong Un have traded insults for weeks, and tensions remain high amid North Korea’s insistence it won’t back down over its nuclear weapons program.

“Our country has been unsuccessfully dealing with North Korea for 25 years, giving billions of dollars & getting nothing. Policy didn’t work!” Trump tweeted Monday.

North Korea last tested a missile on Sept. 15.

Kim Yo Jong’s promotion came as two women — one Indonesian, the other Vietnamese — were being tried in Malaysia for their alleged role in the February killing of Kim Jong Nam, the leader’s estranged half brother, at Kuala Lumpur’s airport.

Malaysian investigators suspect the North may have had a hand in his death.

Kim Yo Jong has worked as deputy director of the Workers’ Party’s Propaganda and Agitation Department. She becomes only the second woman to join the Political Bureau. The move appears to indicate she is an important part of the family dynasty.

Few details of Kim Yo Jong’s life have been confirmed. Like her brother, she studied in Switzerland, and is thought to have studied computer science at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang.

Kim Yo Jong has rarely been seen in public, although she has appeared in photos in state media.