JAKARTA - The ruling Workers' Party of North Korea promoted Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of influential leader Kim Jong Un to a top position, state media said on Tuesday.
Thousands of party elites have packed the capital Pyongyang for the ruling Workers' Party's once-every-five-year summit, a meeting that steers the country's efforts in everything from diplomacy to war planning.
Kim Yo Jong, long considered one of her brother's closest aides, was promoted to department director within the party's highest central committee, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, according to Al Arabiya from AFP (24/2).
Although it is unclear which department he will lead, he previously held a senior role within the party's propaganda unit.
Kim Yo Jong in recent years has emerged as one of the most influential figures in North Korea, playing a highly visible role in diplomacy, nuclear negotiations and other state affairs.
"Kim Yo Jong is one of the few people who can be trusted and relied on by Kim Jong Un," North Korean researcher Ahn Chan-il told AFP.
"He also served as a worker-level official for Kim's summit with Trump in Singapore and Hanoi. He is experienced and experienced," he continued.
Kim Yo Jong appeared on the international stage in 2018, when she was sent to Seoul as North Korea's envoy for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
With the trip, he became one of the first members of the ruling Kim dynasty to set foot in South Korea since the Korean War.
Since then he has earned a reputation for his scathing criticism of the United States and South Korea.
He once derided the government of South Korea's former president Yoon Suk Yeol as a "loyal dog" of the United States.
His tone has softened since the current South Korean leader, Lee Jae Myung - who has sought to improve ties with North Korea - took office last year.
Kim Yo Jong's latest promotion "is equivalent to a promotion to the rank of minister," said Lim Eul-chul of the Institute of East Asian Studies at Kyungnam University.
However, very little is known about Kim Yo Jong, given her prominent role in North Korea's relationship with the outside world.
Born in 1988, according to the South Korean government, he is one of the children of Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong un's predecessor, with Ko Yong Hui.
He was educated in Switzerland with his brother and rose quickly in the ranks after his brother inherited power following the death of their father in 2011.
Pyongyang has never officially revealed any information about Kim Yo Jong's marital status or children.
Rare footage released by state media last year showed him attending an art exhibition with two young children.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
