Kim Yo-jong is a North Korean politician and a key member of the Political Bureau of the Workers’ Party of Korea. She is the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and is often referred to as the most powerful woman in North Korea.
Wiki/Biography
According to South Korean intelligence, Kim Yo-jong was born on September 26, 1987 (age 32 in 2019), while according to the U.S. Treasury Department, she was born on September 26, 1989 (age 30 in 2019) in Pyongyang, North Korea. Some sources claim that Kim Yo-jong and her siblings grew up in isolation relative to the rest of their family, most likely an effort by her father, Kim Jong-il, to keep them away from him. Kim Yo-jong was reportedly raised by her mother, Ko Young-hui, in their home in Jangkwangsan, in the center of Pyongyang. Kim Yo-jong and her older brother, Kim Jong-un, attended a private elementary school, “Steinhölzli Public School”, in Bern, Switzerland. They reportedly studied there from spring 1996 until December 2000.
Kim Yo-jong goes to study in Switzerland
Kim Yo-jong completed the equivalent of a sixth-grade education in Switzerland. Around the late 2000s, Kim Yo-jong returned to North Korea to study computer science at Kim Il-sung Military University.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 4″
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Black
Family and Race
Kim Yo-jong belongs to the Baekdu Mountain lineage or Baekdu Mountain bloodline and has East Asian ancestry.
Parents and siblings
Her father, Kim Jong Il, was the second supreme leader of North Korea and died on December 17, 2011; her mother, Ko Young-hee, was a Korean dancer born in Japan.
Kim Yo-jong’s father Kim Jong-il
Kim Yo-jong’s mother died on August 13, 2004. She reportedly moved to North Korea after the country’s three-year war with U.S.-backed South Korea, where she met North Korea’s second supreme leader, Kim Jong-il.
Kim Yo-jong’s mother Ko Yong-hui
It is reported that when Ko Young-hee first met Kim Jong-il, he was already married and had two children with different wives – Kim Jong-nam (Kim Yo-jong’s half-brother) and Kim Yool-song (Kim Yo-jong’s half-sister).
Kim Yo-jong’s half brother Kim Jong-nam
Kim Yo-jong’s half-sister Kim Sol-song
Kim Yo-jong is reportedly the youngest child in the family and has two older brothers, guitarist Kim Jong-chol and North Korea’s third supreme leader Kim Jong-un.
Kim Jong Chol, Kim Yo-jong’s younger brother
Kim Yo-jong and her brother Kim Jong-un
Relationships, husbands and children
There is no definitive evidence about Kim Yo-jong’s marital status, but according to some reports in South Korean and Japanese tabloids, Kim Yo-jong’s wife is a financial official and the son of senior official Choe Ryong-hae. These reports also claim that the couple may have at least one child, while other reports claim that Kim Yo-jong is unmarried and has no children. There are also reports that she once had a relationship with a bodyguard.
Political career
Kim Yo-jong began to show her political potential at a very young age. When Kim Yo-jong returned to North Korea from Switzerland, her father Kim Jong-il reportedly proudly told foreign journalists that his youngest daughter was interested in politics and was very eager to make a career in North Korean politics. Even Konstantin Plikovsky, a Russian envoy who frequently visited North Korea during Kim Jong-il’s rule, noticed Kim Yo-jong’s interest and talent in politics. From 2007 to 2008, she served as a junior cadre of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea under her father and aunt Kim Kyong-hui. After her father suffered a stroke in September 2008, Kim Yo-jong joined her father’s personal entourage and accompanied her father on inspections with her aunt Kim Kyong-hui. In May 2009, Kim Yo-jong visited Wonsan Agricultural University with her father and brother Kim Jong-un, and was photographed there many times. In 2011, her father died and her brother Kim Jong-un became the next supreme leader of North Korea. Since then, she has been serving the Workers’ Party of Korea in different capacities.
Kim Yo-jong meets with her brother Kim Jong-un
First public appearance
Kim Yo-jong first came to media attention in September 2010, when South Korean media identified a woman as Kim Yo-jong during a photo session at the Third Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea. She was photographed standing next to her father’s technical secretary and fifth wife, Kim Ok. She was next seen in late 2011, when she attended the funeral of her father, Kim Jong-il.
Kim Yo-jong attends her father’s funeral
Dressed by her aunt
It is reported that Kim Yo-jong learned the basics of politics from her aunt Kim Kyong-hui. Just as her aunt shaped her brother’s political career, Kim Yo-jong has been working hard to establish her brother’s political image since Kim Jong-un became the supreme leader of North Korea in 2011.
Kim Yo-jong’s aunt Kim Kyong-hui
In 2012, Kim Yo-jong was spotted riding horses with her aunt, Kim Kyong-hui, in a program broadcast on North Korean state television.
Kim Yo-jong riding a horse with her aunt Kim Kyong-hui in 2012
Her aunt disappeared from public view and was said to have been excluded from the Workers’ Party of Korea, where her husband was executed for attempting to overthrow Kim Jong-un. Kim Yo-jong later replaced her aunt as a member of the ruling Workers’ Party’s powerful Politburo in 2017.
Working behind closed doors
Kim Yo Jong is known for her behind-the-scenes work for her father, Kim Jong Il, and her brother, Kim Jong Un. By 2011, she had become part of her father’s entourage and has been behind nearly all of Kim Jong Un’s public affairs since his death in 2011 and his ascension to the top leadership of North Korea.
Kim Yo-jong and her brother Kim Jong-un
If the report is true, Kim Yo-jong is Kim Jong-un’s most trusted assistant. As the deputy director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea, she always tries to portray her brother as a strong and pragmatic leader in the media, and sometimes encourages her brother to show the image of a “good man of the people.”
Kim Yo-jong and her brother Kim Jong-un
Korea trip
Kim Yo-jong made history when she arrived in Pyeongchang, South Korea, for the 2018 Winter Olympics, becoming the first direct member of the Kim dynasty to enter South Korea. The move was widely reported in international media as an effort to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Kim Yo-jong attends the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea
During her three days in South Korea, she met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the first time a member of the Kim family met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Kim Yo-jong and South Korean President Moon Jae-in
North Korea’s next supreme leader?
Kim Yo-jong has soared to become the face of North Korea in the international media due to her active participation in North Korea’s public affairs, both in all major public events and in representing North Korea in various international forums. Due to her pragmatic involvement in national policy-making, she is often seen as the next supreme leader of North Korea after her brother Kim Jong-un. However, some experts on North Korean political affairs have dismissed this possibility on the pretext that North Korea is a male-dominated country, especially in terms of its political philosophy, which is largely based on Confucian hierarchy. When rumors about her brother Kim Jong-un’s illness circulated in April 2020, major media outlets once again listed her as the next supreme leader of North Korea and Kim Jong-un’s successor.
Kim Yo-jong steps off North Korean train
Facts/Trivia
- When she was born, North Korea was led by its founder, Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994.
- Her father, Kim Jong Il, reportedly called her “sweet and lovely Yojong” or “Princess Yojong.”
- After her mother’s death in 2004, she took a course at a university in Western Europe.
- When Kim Yo-jong was studying computer science at Kim Il-sung Military University in North Korea, she developed a deep friendship with Kim Un-kyung, the daughter of Japanese abducted to North Korea, Yokota Megumi. Yokota Megumi was abducted to North Korea on her way back from Niigata Prefecture, Japan in 1977 when she was only 13 years old. It is reported that after graduating from Kim Il-sung Military University, Kim Yo-jong recommended Kim Un-kyung to the core organization in Pyongyang, and the two have worked side by side in important positions in the Workers’ Party of Korea since then.
File photo of Kim Un-kyung at a press conference in Pyongyang on July 6, 2006
- Kim Yo-jong was closely guarded by North Korean security personnel while studying in Switzerland. School officials once revealed that when Kim Yo-jong caught a cold, security personnel immediately carried her out of the school and sent her to the hospital.
- It was reported that she lived in a simple apartment in Switzerland under the name “Kim Young-sun”. Other sources said that she used the alias “Park Mi-hyang” during her stay in Switzerland.
- It is reported that she took ballet courses while studying in Switzerland.
- Kim Yo-jong is an excellent equestrian athlete and is often seen enjoying horseback riding on various occasions.
Kim Yo-jong rides a horse with her brother Kim Jong-un
- Some officials working near Pyongyang revealed that on her birthday, she could only receive birthday gifts after greeting her father and wearing a Korean People’s Army uniform. [KPA] Wear a uniform.
- Kim Yo-jong’s eldest brother, Kim Jong-chul, is a professional guitarist and a big fan of British rock and blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Eric Clapton.
- In March 2020, she made headlines for praising Donald Trump’s efforts to build bilateral relations between the United States and North Korea.
- In the popular media, Kim Yo-jong is often referred to as “North Korea’s Ivanka Trump.”
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education