N. Korean leader's sister to accompany high-level Olympic delegation

By Lim Chang-won Posted : February 7, 2018, 17:08 Updated : February 13, 2018, 16:03

[Yonhap Photo]


SEOUL, Feb. 07 (Aju News) -- The younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will accompany a high-level delegation for South Korea's first Winter Olympics, officials in Seoul said Wednesday, as Pyongyang stepped up a flurry of sports diplomacy to grab the international spotlight.

Kim Yo-jong, the first vice director of the propaganda and agitation department of North Korea's Workers Party of Korea, will be included in the delegation led by Kim Yong-nam, the ceremonial head of state, according to the South's unification ministry. The delegation will also include Choe Hwi, the chairman of the National Sports Guidance Committee, and Ri Son-gwon in charge of inter-Korean affairs.

The North has promised to send a 22-member delegation including three ranking officials and others to South Korea for a three-day trip starting Friday.

The sister's trip sprang a surprise as it will mark her debut on the international diplomatic stage. She has been seen as the command deliverer of his brother.

It's hard to verify information related to the ruling family of the world's most reclusive state, but defectors and experts claimed that Yo-jong and her brother studied together in Switzerland. For years, the sister has assisted Kim Jong-un in the rear of her brother since he took power following the sudden death of his father in December 2011.

Yo-jong made her first public appearance at a party conference in September 2010, but she was given much publicity during the funeral service for her father, appearing alongside her brother. Since then, she has frequently accompanied her brother on his "field guidance" trips.

In July 2015, Yo-jong took control of the party's propaganda and agitation department in charge of developing her brother’s cult of personality. In October last year, she was elected as an alternate member of the central committee's Political Bureau, the communist party's decision-making body.

The United States has imposed sanctions on Yo-jong who was among seven North Korean officials blacklisted for their roles in the regime's human rights violations.

It's not known if the sister will be able to talk with South Korean President Moon Jae-in who plans to see Kim Yong-nam, 90, who serves as the nominal head of state responsible for summit diplomacy.

 
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