Summary
Highlights
On February 9th, 2018, Kim Yo-Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, became the first member of her family to visit South Korea since the Korean War. Although she ostensibly arrived to attend the Winter Olympics, her true mission was more sinister, challenging long-held assumptions about the Kim dynasty and raising questions about her potential role as the next leader of North Korea.
North Korea, despite claiming to be a socialist state, is a totalitarian dictatorship built on the cult of personality around the Kim family. Historically, the supreme leader (Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-Il, and now Kim Jong-Un) wields absolute authority. The Kim leaders have enforced strict gender roles, with women, including leaders' wives, having no real power. However, Kim Jong-Un has shown some deviation from this tradition by including his wife in high-level meetings and promoting women to significant positions, including his sister, Kim Yo-Jong.
Kim Yo-Jong gained prominence after her father's death, with Kim Jong-Un promoting her to lead the propaganda and agitation department, where she indoctrinated North Koreans in the Kim ideology. Her casual demeanor next to Kim Jong-Un and her appearance in propaganda photos on Mount Paektu (a mythical origin site for Korean people and culture) signal her royal blood and legitimacy to rule if anything were to happen to her brother. While experts are skeptical of her taking the top spot immediately, she is seen as a powerful number two.
North Korea uses a three-step scheme to gain resources and sanctions relief: first, isolation and threats (missile launches, nuclear tests); second, a sudden move towards peace; and third, negotiations for aid and sanctions relief. Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il used this strategy by inviting reporters or meeting with South Korean presidents. Each time, they would make promises, buy time, and then restart the cycle.
Kim Jong-Un initiated step one with missile launches. For step two, he sent Kim Yo-Jong to South Korea, where her diplomatic charm and positive media reception facilitated summits with South Korean and US presidents. This move was a brilliant update to the decades-old scheme, making the world believe North Korea was genuinely seeking peace. Her effectiveness led to her promotion to North Korea's top decision-making body and possibly as first secretary of the party.
In 2020, Kim Yo-Jong took charge of step one, issuing aggressive statements against South Korea and ordering the destruction of a liaison office. Her influence peaked when she appeared to take the reins during Kim Jong-Un's illness. She is now considered the most powerful woman in North Korean history, not as a supreme leader but paving the way for others. Recent appearances of Kim Jong-Un's daughter, Kim Ju Ae, at significant events, believed to be orchestrated by Kim Yo-Jong, suggest a future where a female heir could rule, sending a message of dynastic endurance to the world.