PYONGYANG: North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party has elevated Kim Yo Jong, the influential younger sister of leader Kim Jong Un, to a senior position within its central committee, state media reported on Tuesday, highlighting her expanding role in the country’s power structure.
The promotion was announced during the party’s once-in-five-years congress in Pyongyang, a major political gathering that sets national priorities on diplomacy, defence and economic policy. Thousands of party officials attended the event, which is seen as a key platform for consolidating leadership authority.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Yo Jong has been appointed as a department director in the party’s central committee. The specific department was not disclosed, though she has previously served in senior roles within the party’s powerful propaganda apparatus.
Kim Yo Jong has emerged as one of the most prominent figures in North Korean politics over the past decade. She has played visible roles in inter-Korean relations, nuclear diplomacy and high-level engagements with the United States. She was involved in preparations for Kim Jong Un’s summits with former US president Donald Trump in Singapore and Hanoi. She first gained international attention in 2018 when she travelled to South Korea for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, becoming one of the first members of the ruling Kim family to visit the South since the Korean War.
Born in 1988, Kim Yo Jong is the daughter of former leader Kim Jong Il and Ko Yong Hui. She studied in Switzerland alongside her brother and rose quickly within the party ranks after Kim Jong Un assumed power in 2011.
Analysts view her latest appointment as effectively elevating her to ministerial rank and further cementing her position as one of the most powerful figures in the reclusive state. The rare party congress, held only nine times under the decades-long Kim dynasty, is closely watched for signals about leadership consolidation and the future direction of the regime.
