North Korean leader's sister emerges as policymaker in spat with South Korea
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2022
SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
North Korean leader's sister emerges as policymaker in spat with South Korea

World+Biz

Reuters
10 June, 2020, 07:50 pm
Last modified: 10 June, 2020, 07:51 pm

Related News

  • North Korea says new fever cases under 100,000 as virus fight heats up
  • Security Council split spells end of an era for US-led sanctions on N Korea
  • China, Russia veto US push for more UN sanctions on North Korea
  • As N Korea gears up for potential nuclear test, missiles get little domestic fanfare
  • S Korea uses Biden summit as springboard for global agenda as China looms

North Korean leader's sister emerges as policymaker in spat with South Korea

Believed to be in her early 30s, Kim Yo Jong is the only close relative of the North Korean leader to play a public role in politics

Reuters
10 June, 2020, 07:50 pm
Last modified: 10 June, 2020, 07:51 pm
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un attends wreath laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam March 2, 2019/Reuters
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un attends wreath laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam March 2, 2019/Reuters

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is taking a leading role in a new, more hard-line pressure campaign against South Korea, highlighting what analysts say is a substantive policy role that goes beyond being her brother's assistant.

Believed to be in her early 30s, Kim Yo Jong is the only close relative of the North Korean leader to play a public role in politics.

During the 2018-2019 flurry of international diplomacy, Kim Yo Jong garnered global attention by leading a delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. Later, she was often seen dashing about to make sure everything went well for her older brother, including holding an ashtray for him at a train station on his way to a summit with US President Donald Trump in Vietnam.

But this year, Kim has taken on a more public policy role, cementing her status as an influential political player in her own right.

"Prior to this, Kim Yo Jong was portrayed in state media as Kim Jong Un's sister, his protocol officer, or one of his accompanying officials," said Rachel Minyoung Lee, a former North Korea open source intelligence analyst in the US government. "Now, North Koreans know for sure there is more to her than that."

Kim has worked behind the scenes in North Korea's propaganda agencies, a role that led the United States to add her to a list of sanctioned senior officials in 2017 because of human rights abuses and censorship.

In March, state media carried the first ever statement by Kim, in which she criticised South Korean authorities. That was followed by several more, including a response to comments by Trump, and last week, a warning that the North would cut communications with South Korea.

Lee said Kim's statements have a unique style, showcasing her wit and underscoring her powerful position.

"In addition to the harsh words and sarcasm, they can be bitingly witty in ways that the other statements are not," Lee said. "She seems to have more leeway in crafting her statements, which of course is not surprising."

When state media announced on Tuesday that the hotlines between North and South Korea would be severed, they said Kim Yo Jong and a longtime hard-liner, Kim Yong Chol, championed the decision at a meeting.

This rare explanation of a policymaking process portrayed Kim Yo Jong as "a very substantive person," said Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert at the Stimson Centre, a US-based think tank.

Madden said this new portrayal of Kim in state media may be a subtle dig at international analysts who have cast doubts on her ability to wield influence in the North's male-dominated society.

"They clearly have high hopes and expectations for her," he said. "Not necessarily the next leader, but something of a king maker nonetheless."

Politics

north korea / south korea / Kim Yo Jong

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Ukrainian military medics transport a wounded soldier after treatment at a field hospital in Popasna, Ukraine, on May 8.Photographer: Chris McGrath/Getty Images/Bloomberg
    Russian wins in eastern Ukraine spark debate over course of war
  • We are not Sri Lanka, but it does not take too much effort to turn into one
    We are not Sri Lanka, but it does not take too much effort to turn into one
  • File photo of AKM Shahidul Haque, former Inspector General of Police
    Ruling parties want cops to abide by their orders: Ex-IGP

MOST VIEWED

  • A satellite image shows troops and equipment occupy the village of Kolodyazi, north of Lyman, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine on 26 May 2022. Picture taken May 26, 2022. Satellite image 2022 Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters
    Russian gains in Ukraine's east indicate a shift in momentum in the war
  • Ukrainian military medics transport a wounded soldier after treatment at a field hospital in Popasna, Ukraine, on May 8.Photographer: Chris McGrath/Getty Images/Bloomberg
    Russian wins in eastern Ukraine spark debate over course of war
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with members of the Delovaya Rossiya (Business Russia) All-Russian Public Organization at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, 3 February, 2022. PHOTO: Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin via REUTERS
    Putin says he's willing to discuss resuming Ukrainian grain shipments
  • US female bystander kills armed man targeting a party 
    US female bystander kills armed man targeting a party 
  • Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves Downing Street in London, Britain, January 22, 2020. Photo: Reuters
    G7 working to resume grain exports from Ukraine, UK's Johnson tells Zelenskiy
  • Iran's Army chief, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi and Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri visit an underground site with drones at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on May 28, 2022. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
    Iran shows off underground drone base, but not its location

Related News

  • North Korea says new fever cases under 100,000 as virus fight heats up
  • Security Council split spells end of an era for US-led sanctions on N Korea
  • China, Russia veto US push for more UN sanctions on North Korea
  • As N Korea gears up for potential nuclear test, missiles get little domestic fanfare
  • S Korea uses Biden summit as springboard for global agenda as China looms

Features

Photo: Shutterstock

Bangladesh is on the verge of destigmatising menstruation

12m | Features
Photo: Collected

The death of Davos?

6h | Panorama
A male Baya Weaver beating wings. Photo: Enam Ul Haque

Baya Weavers weave: ‘Must be witnessed to be fully credited’

9h | Panorama
Starlink is ideal in rural or remote locations where internet access has been unreliable or completely unavailable. Photo: SpaceX

Time for a reality check: How viable is Starlink in Bangladesh?

10h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Attorney General's suggestion to reduce case clutter

Attorney General's suggestion to reduce case clutter

17m | Videos
Russian forces take Liman city of Ukraine

Russian forces take Liman city of Ukraine

22m | Videos
JU food prices spike, students suffer

JU food prices spike, students suffer

22m | Videos
5% tax on poultry farmers earning above Tk10 lakh

5% tax on poultry farmers earning above Tk10 lakh

22m | Videos

Most Read

1
Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi
Bangladesh

Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi

2
Corporates go cashless…tax cut on cards
NBR

Corporates go cashless…tax cut on cards

3
Photo: Courtesy
Panorama

Misfit Technologies: A Singaporean startup rooted firmly in Bangladesh

4
Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
Bangladesh

Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge

5
British International Investment (BII) CEO Nick O’Donohoe. Illustration: TBS
Economy

BII to invest $450m in Bangladesh in 5 years

6
Representational image. Picture: Pixabay
Economy

Govt raises regulatory duty to discourage imports of 130 products

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab