Kim Yo-jong is a North Korean politician who is a leading member of the Politburo (Political Bureau) of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK). She is the younger sister of North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un and is often described as the most powerful woman in North Korea.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
According to South Korea’s intelligence service, Kim Yo-jong was born on 26 September 1987 (age 32 years; as of 2019), and according to the US Treasury Department, she was born on 26 September 1989 (age 30 years; as of 2019). happened. ) in Pyongyang, North Korea. Some sources claim that Kim Yo-jong and her siblings had an isolated upbringing; Relative to the rest of the family; Possibly by his father, Kim Jong Il, in an effort to keep him away from his father. Reportedly, Kim Yo-jong was raised by her mother Ko Yong-hui at his residence on Changkwang Hill in central Pyongyang. Kim Yo-jong attended the “Steinholzli Public School”, a private elementary school in Bern, Switzerland, along with her brother, Kim Jong-un. Reportedly, he studied there from spring 1996 to December 2000.
Kim Yo-jong studying in a school in Switzerland
After completing the American equivalent of sixth grade in Switzerland, Kim Yo-jong likely returned to North Korea in the late 2000s, where she studied computer science at Kim Il-sung Military University.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 4″
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Family and ethnicity
Kim Yo-jong belongs to the Mount Paektu bloodline or the Mount Baekdu bloodline; People of East Asian ethnicity.
parents and siblings
His father, Kim Jong-il, was the second supreme leader of North Korea, who died on 17 December 2011, and his mother, Ko Yong-hui, was an ethnic Korean dancer who was born in Japan.
Kim Yo-jong’s father Kim Jong-il
Kim Yo-jong’s mother died on August 13, 2004. Reportedly, his mother moved to North Korea after a decade-long three-year war between North Korea and US-backed South Korea, where she met Kim Jong-il. Second supreme leader of North Korea.
Kim Yo-jong’s mother Ko Yong-hui
Some sources claim that when Ko Yong-hui first met Kim Jong-il, he was already married and had two children by different women – Kim Jong-nam (Kim Yo-jong’s half-brother ), and Kim Sol-song (half-sister of Kim Yo-jong).
Kim Jong-nam, half brother of Kim Yo-jong
Kim Yo-jong’s half-sister Kim Sol-song
Kim Yo-jong is reportedly the youngest child of her parents. He has two elder brothers, Kim Jong-chul who is a guitarist, and Kim Jong-un who is the third supreme leader of North Korea.
Kim Jong-chul, brother of Kim Yo-jong
Kim Yo-jong with her brother Kim Jong-un
Relationships, Husband and Children
There is no concrete evidence regarding his marital status; However, according to some reports in South Korean and Japanese tabloids, Kim Yo-jong is married to a finance executive who is the son of senior official Choe Ryong Hye. These reports also claim that the couple may have at least one child while some other reports claim that he is unmarried and does not have any children. Another report claims that she was once in a relationship with a bodyguard.
political career
Kim Yo-jong started showing her political abilities at an early age. Reportedly, when she returned to North Korea from Switzerland, her father Kim Jong-il proudly told foreign interlocutors that his youngest daughter, Kim Yo-jong, was interested in politics, and that she would contribute to North Korean politics. She was very eager to make a career. System. Even Konstantin Pulikovsky, a Russian envoy who frequently visited North Korea during Kim Jong-il’s reign, noted Kim Yo-jong’s interest and aptitude in politics. During 2007–2008, he worked as a junior cadre in the Central Party under his father and aunt Kim Kyong Hui. After her father suffered a stroke in September 2008, she joined her father’s close associates, and along with her aunt Kim Kyong Hui, she attended her father’s on-site visits. In May 2009, Kim Yo-jong, accompanied by her father and brother Kim Jong-un, visited Wonsan University of Agriculture, where she held several photo sessions. In 2011, his father died, and his brother, Kim Jong-un, became the next supreme leader of North Korea, and since then, he has been serving the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) in various capacities.
Kim Yo-jong and her brother Kim Jong-un during a meeting
first public appearance
Kim Yo-jong was first seen by the media in September 2010, when at a photo session at the WPK’s third convention, South Korean media identified a woman as Kim Yo-jong. In the photo, she was seen standing next to her father’s technical secretary and fifth wife Kim Ok. Her next appearance was reported to be in late 2011 when she attended the funeral of her father Kim Jong-il.
Kim Yo-jong at her father’s funeral
prepared by her aunt
Reportedly, Kim Yo-jong learned the basics of politics and other such things from her aunt Kim Kyong-hui, and like her aunt, who shaped her brother’s career in politics, Kim Yo-jong is also into politics. She is grooming her brother’s image. Since becoming the supreme leader of North Korea in 2011.
Kim Yo-jong’s aunt Kim Kyong-hui
In a 2012 North Korean state television broadcast, Kim Yo-jong was seen riding a horse with her aunt Kim Kyong Hui.
Kim Yo-jong shown horseback riding with her aunt Kim Kyong-hui in 2012
Reportedly, his aunt disappeared from the public eye, and is said to have been sidelined in the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK); Because her husband had tried to overthrow Kim Jong-un and was later hanged for it. Later, Kim Yo-jong replaced her aunt as a member of the ruling Workers’ Party’s powerful political bureau in 2017.
working behind closed doors
Kim Yo-jong is known for working behind the scenes for her father Kim Jong-il and brother Kim Jong-un. By 2011, she had become a regular member of her father’s entourage, and since her father’s death and Kim Jong-un becoming supreme leader of North Korea in 2011, she has been responsible for almost all public affairs of Kim Jong-un. Taking care. behind closed doors.
Kim Yo-jong with her brother Kim Jong-un
According to some reports, Kim Yo-jong is Kim Jong-un’s most trusted aide and as the deputy director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea, she always tries to project her brother. A strong and practical leader in the media. From time to time, he has also encouraged his brother to project the image of a “man of the people”.
Kim Yo-jong with her brother Kim Jong-un
south korea trip
When Kim Yo-jong arrived at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, she made history by becoming the first immediate member of the Kim dynasty to enter South Korea; An event that was covered extensively by the international media and was seen as an attempt to de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Kim Yo-jong at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea
During his three-day stay in South Korea, he met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the first meeting by any member of the Kim dynasty to do so.
Kim Yo-jong hanging out with South Korean President Moon Jae-in
Next supreme leader of North Korea?
For her active participation in North Korean public affairs, whether it be attending all major public events in North Korea or representing North Korea at various international forums, Kim Yo-jong has leapt to become the face of North Korea in the international media. Has been installed. Because of his hands-on involvement in the country’s policymaking, he is often seen as the next supreme leader of North Korea, succeeding his brother Kim Jong-un. However, some experts on North Korean political affairs deny this possibility under the pretext of North Korea being a male-dominated country, especially when it comes to its political philosophy, which is based on Confucian hierarchy. In April 2020, amid rumors of the illness of his brother, Kim Jong-un, various media houses again placed him as the next supreme leader of North Korea and successor to Kim Jong-un.
Kim Yo-jong getting off the train in North Korea
Facts/General Knowledge
- At the time of his birth the country was led by North Korea’s founder, Kim Il Sung, who died in 1994.
- Reportedly, her father Kim Jong-il called her “sweet, lovely Yo Jong” and “Princess Yo Jong”.
- After his mother died in 2004, he took a course at a Western European university.
- When Kim Yo-jong was studying computer science at Kim Il-sung Military University in North Korea, she became close friends with Kim Un-gyeong, the daughter of Megumi Yokota; A Japanese kidnapped in North Korea. Megumi Yokota was only 13 years old when she was kidnapped by North Korea from Niigata Prefecture, Japan, on her way home from school in 1977. Reportedly, after Kim Il-sung graduated from the Military University, Kim Yo-jong recommended Kim Un-gyeong’s name to one of Pyongyang’s main organizations and since then both heads of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK). Working together on positions.
A file photo of Kim Un-gyong taken during a press conference in Pyongyang on July 6, 2006
- During her schooling in Switzerland, Kim Yo-jong was a student closely guarded by a contingent of North Korean security officials. School officials once revealed a similar incident when he caught a cold, and he was immediately picked up from the school and taken to the hospital by its security guards.
- Reportedly, she lived in a simple apartment in Switzerland under the name “Kim Yong-sun”. Another source claims that she went by the alias “Pak Mi Hyang” while living in Switzerland.
- It is believed that she took ballet lessons while studying in Switzerland.
- Kim Yo-jong is a skilled horse rider and is often seen enjoying it on various occasions.
Kim Yo-jong on horseback riding with her brother Kim Jong-un
- Some officers working in areas close to Pyongyang have revealed that on their birthdays, they received birthday gifts only after congratulating their father and that too wearing Korean People’s Army uniforms. [KPA] dress uniform.
- Kim Yo-jong’s eldest brother, Kim Jong-chul, is a professional guitarist and a big fan of English rock and blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Eric Clapton.
- In March 2020, he made headlines when he praised Donald Trump for his efforts to build bilateral relations between the United States and North Korea.
- In popular media, Kim Yo-jong is often referred to as “the Ivanka Trump of North Korea”.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn