Kim Jong Un’s sister climbs to political bureau

N. Korea could mark anniversary with more missile tests

North Korea has a new Kim in town: Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, was promoted to a 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 largely exists to rubber-stamp Kim Jong Un’s decisions.

As an alternate member, his sister will be able to take part in policy debates, including on 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, father of the current leader, ran North Korea from 1994 until his death in 2011.

Tuesday is the anniversary of the founding of the party, a date North Korea could mark by testing a long-range missile capable of striking the USA, according to 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 most recently tested a missile Sept. 15.

Kim Yo Jong worked as deputy director of the Workers’ Party’s Propaganda and Agitation Department.

She becomes only the second women after her aunt, Kim Kyong Hui, to join the Political Bureau.

Few details of Kim Yo Jong ’s life have been confirmed, remaining cloudy like information about her brother, who is rumored to be 33. Like her brother, she studied in Switzerland. She also may 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 published in state media.

The Kim siblings have the same mother: Ko Yong Hui, a former dancer who was born in Japan and was Kim Jong Il’s second or third partner.

Some accounts published in South Korean media suggest Kim Yo Jong is behind her brother’s attempts to improve his public image by visiting schools and factories, and she may have encouraged his unlikely friendship with basketball star Dennis Rodman.

The Kim bloodline is not a guarantee of safety in North Korea.

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

Kim Jong Nam had lived a luxurious life outside North Korea. Malaysian investigators suspect the North may have had a hand in his death.

Kim Kyong Hui, Kim Jong Un’s aunt, has not been seen for several years. She could be under house arrest or dead.

Her husband, a high-ranking general, was executed in 2013 for alleged disloyalty.

Kim Jong Chol, Kim Jong Un’s elder brother, was most recently seen two years ago at an Eric Clapton concert in London.