¿What happened to kim yo jong, the influential sister of North Korea’s top leader?
This is what many observers are wondering in the absence of his name in the new list of Politburo members.
There are those who say that Kim Jong-un may have demoted his sister, perhaps concerned about her growing popularity and influence as he tries to assert his authority to deal with the country’s economic problems.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: REUTER
The versions that Kim Yo Jong is the potential heir of his brother are dangerous because “they can generate doubts about Kim’s power and health” said Oh Gyeong-seob, an analyst at the Seoul Institute for National Unification.
That is why Kim Jong-un slows down his sister’s political projection a bit.
The news is a surprise because Kim Yo Jong, who was admitted as an alternate to the Politburo last year, was expected to would be confirmed as a full member during the Workers’ Party congress that ended on Tuesday.
Any figure with ambitions must go through the Politburo, the body that Kim Jong-un consults before making big decisions.
When the eight-day congress kicked off last week, Kim Yo Jong, who is believed to be 32 years old, he occupied a place on the podium of the leaders, standing out among mostly elderly and male cadres.
Kim Yo Jong with Moon Jae-in, the president of South Korea. Photo: AP
But when the list of the 30 full and alternate members of the Politburo was announced, their names did not appear.
Kim Yo Jong remains a member of the PT Central Committee, another important body. But when it released a statement criticizing South Korea on Wednesday, it was identified as a ‘deputy director of department’‘, an intermediate level position.
Kim Jong-un is trying to overcome “the worst” difficulties this country of 25 million people has ever had. North Korea suffers economic problems associated with the coronavirus, a series of natural disasters and the impact of the US sanctions on the North Korean nuclear program.
“The purpose of the congress was to solidify the leadership of Kim Jong Un. If Kim Yo Jong had been admitted as a full member of the Politburo, all attention would have been focused on her,” Ko Young-hwan, former Deputy Director of Strategy for the Politburo, said Monday. National Security, a think tank overseen by the South Korean spy agency, on a television show.
The Kim brothers are the third generation of the ruling dynasty of North Korea for decades. His leadership is inherited from the cult of personality that began with his grandfather Kim Il Sung, founder of the country in 1948.
Kim Yo Jong gained international projection by accompanying her brother in his encounters with Donald Trump and other world leaders in 2018 and 2019. Her closeness to her brother made one think she was his chief of staff.
The Congress of the Workers’ Party in North Korea. Photo: AP
In South Korea it was made fame as a “messenger of peace” after attending the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyongyang. She was the first member of the ruling family to visit South Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War.
Last year, however, he harshly criticized the South Koreans. The South Korean state press said he was in charge of relations with South Korea and more than one speculated that he was also in charge of relations with South Korea. would take over relations with the United States.
When unconfirmed rumors circulated that Kim Jong-un had health problems, many thought that Kim Yo Jong would be his successor if he was incapacitated. The South Korean spy agency said that year that she was the second person more powerful from North Korea but her brother’s heir had not been designated.
“Kim Jong-un probably blamed his sister for worsening relations with the United States and South Korea,” said Kim Yeol Soo, an analyst at the Korean Institute of Military Affairs in South Korea.
Many experts consider that, despite being no longer in the Politburo, its political weight has not diminished and it is not ruled out that his brother will give him an important position in the future.
Analyst Oh noted that Kim Yo Jong is surely the second most powerful woman in North Korean history after Kim Song Ae, Kim Il Sung’s late second wife.
“Kim Yo Jong can meet and talk with Kim Jong Un whenever he wants … He has no doubt that he has great influence,” Oh pointed out. “With the passage of time, his role will increase.”
“But you must take care” and don’t be too ambitioushe added.
Source: Associated Press
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