[Yonhap News Photo]
The 30-year-old younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was thrown into the spotlight this week in a reshuffle which was seen as marking the generational shift of elite party members.
Pyongyang's state media said Kim Yo-jong was elected as an alternate member of the central committee's Political Bureau, the decision-making body of the ruling Workers Party of Korea, in a change ahead of the party's founding anniversary of the party which falls on October 10.
The party's official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, carried Yo-jong's picture with her title and name for the first time, indicating she would play an open role as a senior party member.
It's hard to verify information related to the leader of the world's most reclusive state, but defectors and experts claimed Yo-jong and her brother studied together in Switzerland. For years, the sister has assisted Kim Jong-un in the rear of her brother since he took power following the sudden death of his father in December 2011.
Yo-jong made her first public appearance at a party conference in September 2010, but she was given much publicity during the funeral service for her father, appearing alongside her brother. Since then, she has frequently accompanied her brother on his "field guidance" trips.
In July 2015, Yo-jong took control of the party's propaganda and agitation department in charge of developing her brother’s cult of personality. She was made a member of the party's central committee in May last year.
In January this year, the United States imposed sanctions on Yo-jong who was among seven North Korean officials blacklisted for their roles in the regime's human rights violations.
The reshuffle reflects an effort by Kim Jong-un to speed up the change of generation especially in diplomatic and economic posts, the South's unification ministry said in its analysis. The young leader has kicked out old guards named by his late father to consolidate his grip on power.
"The promotion of personnel in the diplomatic and economic fields alludes to (North Korea's) focus on easing its international isolation and self-reliance," the ministry said.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
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