JAKAKARTA - Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has been promoted to the country's highest decision-making body, state media said Thursday.
The announcement, published on North Korean state news outlet KCNA, said Kim Yo-jong was now a member of the State Affairs Commission (SAC), the country's governing body headed by her brother.
Kim Yo-jong is already one of the country's most important political figures and a key adviser to her brother, but the seat in the SAC is the highest official position she holds.
Along with seven others, they were promoted as part of the SAC reshuffle, with Kim Yo-jong being the only woman. Nine SAC members have retired or been demoted, including Mr Pong-ju, 82, Kim Jong-un's economic policymaker for the past decade.
Ri Pyong Chol, in charge of North Korea's weapons program and supreme military commander under Kim Jong-un, was demoted. His place was replaced by military general Pak Jong-chon, who had overseen the development of new weapons for the country.
Earlier this week, Pak oversaw the test of what North Korea claims is its first hypersonic missile, which, if true, has the potential to be one of the world's fastest and most accurate weapons, and could be equipped with a nuclear warhead, experts said.
News of Kim Yo-jong's promotion came after Kim Jong-un told the country's legislative assembly on Wednesday he would restore communication lines that were cut off with the South in early October, citing CNN from KCNA Sept. 30.
Kim Yo-jong's appointment to the country's core decision-making committee appears to officially strengthen her role in North Korea's leadership. She is believed to be one of her brother's most powerful and trusted confidants. Last year, South Korea's National Intelligence Service rated him as the country's "second de facto" - but his official status has always been unclear.
As North Korea's chief propagandist, Kim Yo-jong was the face of the country's delegation at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where she met South Korean President Moon Jae-In.
He is credited with helping lay the groundwork for the first summit between President Moon and his brother. He was also by Kim Jong-un's side when he met the then President of the United States, Donald Trump.
In 2020, South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers he had been in charge of relations with South Korea and the United States.
Recently, as deputy department director of the Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee, he has made scathing public statements about inter-Korean relations, President Biden's administration and defended North Korea's missile launches.
Last week, Kim Yo Jong demanded that South Korea make the right choice if it really wants reconciliation and development in inter-Korean relations, including another summit. He also warned the US and South Korea to stop their hostile policies towards North Korea, before discussions could resume on a proposal by the South Korean president to declare an end to war between North and South.
However, Kim Yo Jong's rise to the top has not been smooth. Earlier this year, he was removed as a substitute member of North Korea's politburo and demoted from first deputy department director to deputy department director.
Analysts at the time said his demotion might have more to do with Kim Jong Un's focus on reshuffling the politburo to include more economists. Others have speculated that he may have taken a risk in dealing with inter-Korean relations last summer, when he allegedly directed North Korea's armed forces, to blow up the joint liaison office in Kaesong City, to express Pyongyang's displeasure with Seoul.
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