Kim Yo-jong

Kim Yo-jong
Korean spelling
Chosŏn'gŭl	김여정
Hancha	金 與 正
Revised Romanization	Gim Yeo-jeong
McCune- Reischauer	Kim Yŏjŏng
See also : Korean name

Kim Yo-jong (born September 26, 1987 in Pyongyang ) is the director of the Ministry of Propaganda and Agitation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and a leading figure in the country. As the propaganda officer of her brother, the "Supreme Leader" Kim Jong-un , she is largely responsible for the personality cult surrounding the North Korean dictator and its presentation to the population. She organizes and plans his appearances and trips, writes his speeches and controls which pictures of him reach the public. At the 7th party congress of the PdAK in 2016, she was also accepted into the Central Committee, which functions as the inner circle of the Workers' Party.

Origin and education

Kim Yo-jong was born on September 26, 1987 as the youngest child of Kim Jong-il and his third wife or mistress Ko Yong-hi into the North Korean ruling dynasty of the Kims. When she was six years old, her grandfather, the founder of the state, Kim Il-sung , died and her father took over the government. Kim Yo-jong spent most of her early childhood in her mother's isolated residence in Pyongyang before she was sent to a Swiss private school in Bern under the false name Kim Yong-sun in 1996 , which was run by her two older brothers Kim Jong-chol and Kim Jong -un already visited. The Kim offspring lived there, guarded and looked after by servants , entertainers and bodyguards in a private residence headed by a high-ranking party member. Yo-jong has been described as overprotected by school staff. Her maternal aunt, Ko Yong-suk , who had looked after Yo-jong and her brothers from an early age, fled to the United States in 1998 from Bern, along with her husband and three children . In the same year, Kim Yo-jong's mother had breast cancer and was treated in France and Switzerland .

In 2000, Yo-jong returned to North Korea . Your further training path is not known in detail. She is believed to have taken courses at the Kim-Il-sung Military Academy in Pyongyang and studied computer science at Kim-Il-sung University , where she is said to have been a fellow student of Kim Eun-gyong , the daughter of the Japanese kidnapping victim Megumi Yokota . After her mother died from cancer in 2004, she also seems to have taken courses at a European university.

Career

As early as 2002, Kim Yo-jong's father told foreign diplomats that his youngest daughter was interested in politics and was aiming for a career in the North Korean political system. She is known to have been a party and cadre member since at least 2007, working for either her father or Kim Kyong-hui , her paternal aunt. In the next few years she was a regular part of her father's entourage when he attended official appointments and the usual on-site inspections of production facilities, but remained unmentioned and in the background. Until 2011, she was a member of her father's secretariat and the National Defense Commission. She also worked on the propaganda campaign that had been launched to establish her brother as the future ruler. She also played a major role in her aunt and uncle's plans for Kim Jong-uns to come to power after their father's death. In September 2010 she was seen for the first time at an official photo opportunity when she was standing next to her father's secretary and his mistress Kim Ok on the occasion of the 3rd party conference of the Party of Labor of Korea (PdAK) .

In December 2011, Kim Yo-jong appeared on state television for the first time as part of her father's funeral. She appeared in the company of her brother and led a procession of high-ranking party members at least twice, bowing before the coffin. She was not named as a member of the funeral parlor, nor was she mentioned by name. After her brother came to power, she regularly accompanied him to official appointments such as military inspections and on-site visits. The state broadcaster Korean Central TV showed them in 2012 z. B. in the wake of Kim Jong-us visiting a military riding arena. Mostly she was dressed in a green jacket like the one worn by reporters and photographers in North Korea. At the beginning of the same year she took over the post on the National Defense Commission as her brother's tour manager. As a member of his board office, she was responsible for scheduling, logistics and security precautions for his public appearances from that point on. She is believed to be one of the few people who have direct access to Kim Jong-un.

Kim Yo-jong (back right) at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea .

The first official mention of Kim Yo-jong by name was on March 9, 2014, when she accompanied her brother to the election of the Supreme People's Assembly and cast her vote. She was named a senior official of the Central Committee of the Labor Party of Korea . On November 28, 2014, she was the deputy head of the Labor Party's Ministry of Propaganda before being promoted to the leadership position in March 2015. She also holds a vice ministerial post in an unknown department. On July 24, 2015, Kim Yo-jong also took over the agitation and propaganda department of the People's Republic of North Korea. As Vice Director, she is responsible for the development of the personality cult around her brother. Previously, 89-year-old Kim Ki-nam had held this post since the 1990s.

When Kim Jong-un had to undergo medical treatment in October 2014 and disappeared completely from the public for a time, it was reported that Kim Yo-jong had taken on important official functions. Allegedly, Kim Jong-un planned to replace his official aunt Kim Kyŏng-hŭi with Kim Yo-jong.

At the beginning of February 2018, as part of the North Korean delegation, she took part in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang together with the head of state of the DPRK, Kim Yong-nam . This was the first time a member of the North Korean ruling dynasty traveled to South Korea .

In the election for the Supreme People's Assembly on March 10, 2019, Kim Yo-jong was elected to the North Korean unicameral parliament. Although she did not run for the previous election in 2014 , she moved up through a by-election or the departure of a member through death.

Presumed marriage

In January 2015, it was reported that Kim Yo-jong had married Choe Song, the second son of government official Choe Ryong-hae . Yo-jong is said to have had a child in May 2015. The child's father is believed to be one of Kim Yo-jong's classmates from Kim Il-sung University, who is either an official of the Secret Bureau 39 of the Labor Party of Korea or a soldier from the military unit, the is responsible for protecting the head of state. Her husband is said to work for the Labor Party's finance and accounting department.

Web links

Commons : Kim Yo-jong  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Christoph Giesen, Georg Mascolo : The great unknown. In: SonntagsZeitung , July 19, 2020.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Kim Yo Jong , North Korea Leadership Watch. July 11th 2013. 
2. ^ Dictator next door. In: jungle-world.com . May 12, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016 . 
3. ↑ The secret life of Kim Jong Un's aunt, who has lived in the US since 1998. In: washingtonpost.com . May 27, 2016, accessed September 3, 2016 . 
4. ↑ Kim Hee-Jin: Abductee's daughter is favorite of Kim's sister . In: Korea JoongAng Daily . March 19, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
5. ↑ ^{a b} KJI Youngest Daughter Working as Events Manager for KJU? , North Korea Leadership Watch. July 22, 2013. Archived from the original on December 22, 2013 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 18, 2013.  
6. ^ N. Korea's Kim Jong-Un executed 15 top officials: S. Korea spy agency . In: Yahoo News . April 29, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
7. ↑ North Korea Newsletter No. 237 , Yonhap News Agency . 22nd of November 2013. 
8. ↑ Kim Yo-jung is believed to have studied abroad and to share her older brother's ambition , Hankyoreh . June 22, 2013. 
9. ↑ Kim Jong Un Visits Kim Il Sung University of Politics and Takes Part in Election of Deputy to SPA , Korean Central News Agency . March 9, 2014. Archived from the original on January 17, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2014. 
10. ↑ North Korea's 'princess' moves closer to center of power , reuters.com , November 30, 2014.
11. ↑ Kim Jong-un's sister promoted to run 'idolization projects' in North Korea , The Guardian . July 24, 2015. 
12. ↑ Cristina Silva: Has Kim Yo-Jong Taken Over For Kim Jong Un? Sister Assumes North Korea State Duties While Brother Undergoes Medical Treatment . International Business Times . October 2, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
13. ↑ Kim Jong-un 'preparing to purge aunt'. telegraph.co.uk , December 6, 2013, accessed September 3, 2016 . 
14. ^ North Korea election: Surprise as leader Kim Jong-un 'not on ballot'. bbc.com , March 12, 2019, accessed March 19, 2019 . 
15. ↑ WSJ Staff: Kim Jong Un's Little Sister Married Son of Top Regime Official, Report Says. blogs.wsj.com , January 2, 2015, accessed September 3, 2016 . 
16. ↑ NK leader's sister weds son of Choe Ryong-hae: sources . Yonhap News Agency. 2nd January 2015.

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Korean. Kim is the family name here, Yo-jong is the first name.