Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has been promoted to minister of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party at the 9th Party Congress, and has re-entered the ranks of alternate members of the Political Bureau. With her enhanced political status, Kim Yo Jong is expected to play an even more active role in the formulation and implementation of foreign policy.
According to a report from KCNA on the 24th, the first enlarged plenary meeting of the 9th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party was held a day before, during which elections for the Standing Committee and the Political Bureau took place, and ministers of the Central Committee were appointed. Kim Yo Jong was promoted from vice minister to minister, a position equivalent to a cabinet minister, though North Korean media did not disclose the specific department she will oversee. Given her previous post as Vice Minister of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, it is speculated she may become the head of that department.
Rejoins the ranks of alternate members of the Political Bureau
Kim Yo Jong previously served as First Vice Minister of the Organization and Guidance Department of the Central Committee while also being an alternate member of the Political Bureau. In January 2021, at the 8th Party Congress, she was transferred to serve as Vice Minister of the Propaganda and Agitation Department and withdrew from the ranks of alternate members. She has now regained her status as an alternate member.
Kim Yo Jong has always been one of Kim Jong Un's closest confidantes, and she is also one of the most influential women in the North Korean government.
According to South Korean government sources, Kim Yo Jong was born in the late 1980s and is one of three children born to Kim Jong Il (Kim Jong Un’s father and former leader) and his third known partner, former dancer Ko Yong-hui.
Kim Yo Jong studied in Switzerland together with her brother Kim Jong Un. After their father’s death in 2011 and Kim Jong Un’s succession to power, Kim Yo Jong began to ascend to senior positions within the Party.
In 2018, Kim Yo Jong visited South Korea during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics at a time when inter-Korean relations were easing.
The Pyongyang authorities also frequently issue statements in her name, elaborating on North Korea’s positions or criticizing South Korea and the United States.
Since Ri Son Gwon, who previously served as the director of the Tenth Bureau of the Workers' Party, stepped down from his ministerial post in this personnel reshuffle, Kim Yo Jong, who previously acted as Kim Jong Un’s spokesperson, may in the future take on a more formal role in managing information released about South Korea as well as external strategic tasks.