Daily US Times: It was February 10, 2018, Kim Yo Jong – sister of Kim Jong-un- took her first step to become the powerful politician her father thought she would be. She is the youngest child of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Kim Yo Jong had already made history by becoming the first member of her family since the end of the Korean War to set foot in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. had already made history by becoming the first member of her family since the end of the Korean War to set foot in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula.
The night before, she had attended the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where she sat behind Moon Jae-in, South Korean President, and watched as hundreds of athletes marched together under a flag representing a unified Korea, a country cut in half in the aftermath of World War II by the United States and Soviet Union with little regard for the thousands of families that were split apart.
It was a tremendous photo op as Kim applauded these athletes alongside dignitaries like Moon, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US Vice President Mike Pence.
But a trip to the Blue House, South Korea’s presidential residence, was a whole different ball game. Kim Yo Jong would be the first member of North Korea’s ruling family ever to enter the halls of power of a sworn enemy.
The morning after the opening ceremony, Kim exited a black sedan to enter the Blue House. She ambled down a red carpet with immaculate posture and her head held high, exuding the confidence of a woman who had been meeting important world leaders for years. She dressed all in black and clutched a black briefcase in her left hand, dark tones that all drew attention to the red lapel pin over her heart emblazoned with the faces of her smiling father and grandfather.
Kim Yo Jong was North Korea’s chief propagandist at the time, and her ability to craft an image was on full display in the South Korean capital Seoul. She proved to be the perfect emissary for her country: a savvy, urbane operator who could counter the narrative of her homeland as a strange, backward, nuclear-armed relic of the Cold War that allegedly holds more than 100,000 people in forced labor camps.
As time goes by, she strengthens her position in North Korea. Now she became one of the front line figures in the country, threatening South Korea of sending the military in DMZ if the South does not stop North Korean defectors to stop anti-government leaflets to her country.
