{"id":1876,"date":"2017-10-11T04:12:46","date_gmt":"2017-10-11T04:12:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/people.utm.my\/wanfahminfaiz\/?p=1876"},"modified":"2017-10-11T04:18:22","modified_gmt":"2017-10-11T04:18:22","slug":"ruling-north-korea-is-a-family-business-and-kim-jong-uns-little-sister-has-emerged-as-its-most-powerful-woman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/wanfahminfaiz\/ruling-north-korea-is-a-family-business-and-kim-jong-uns-little-sister-has-emerged-as-its-most-powerful-woman\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruling North Korea is a family business, and Kim Jong-Un&#8217;s little sister has emerged as its most powerful woman\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"canvas-atom Mb(24px) Mb(22px)--sm\">\n<div class=\"Pos(r) W(100%) Bgc(#212124) Pb(66%)\">\n<div class=\"Pos(a) P(0) H(100%) W(100%) Bxz(bb)\">\n<div class=\"Pos(r) O(n):f\">\n<div id=\"modal-slideshow-6766b26a-d3b8-35a6-af30-3eb1fdf3a9c9\" class=\"Pos(r) H(100%) slideshow-carousel\">\n<div class=\"Carousel-Mask Zoom Pos(r) js-mask H(100%) Ov(h) W(100%) \">\n<ul class=\"Carousel-Slider Row M(0) P(0) Pos(r) Whs(nw) H(100%)\">\n<li class=\"Carousel-Item IbBox H(100%) Carousel-Item-Active\">\n<div class=\"Pos(r) D(ib) H(100%) W(100%) M(0)\">\n<figure class=\"slideshow-figure D(b) H(100%) W(100%) M(0)\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"slideshow-image Maw(100%) Mah(100%) M(a) W(a) StretchedBox\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/dh6u0ohl.y7DJisWPKbeBw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAwO2g9NjAw\/http:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en_us\/News\/afp.com\/9d2c6cb3d6d59144df7fa5537d1647b48308427e.jpg\" alt=\"Kim Yo-Jong is vice department director of the Central Committee of the Worker's Party of Korea -- and little sister to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, which makes her the most powerful woman in the nuclear-armed state's poltical hierarchy (AFP Photo\/STR)\" width=\"583\" height=\"388\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Carousel-Item IbBox H(100%) Pos(a) V(h) Carousel-Item-Next\">\n<div class=\"Pos(r) D(ib) H(100%) W(100%) M(0)\">\n<figure class=\"slideshow-figure D(b) H(100%) W(100%) M(0)\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"slideshow-image Maw(100%) Mah(100%) M(a) W(a) StretchedBox\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/5dvJr9_FNKQy9MrSGRXqQA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAwO2g9NjAw\/http:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en_us\/News\/afp.com\/abb3db42ba300c2eaf0d27e75a57477a5bf4f06e.jpg\" alt=\"Graphic on North Korea's ruling dynasty. (AFP Photo\/Gal ROMA)\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"H(100%) Va(m) D(tbc) Lh(1) Cur(p)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Pos(r) Lh(1.4) Fz(13px) Pb(10px) Pt(6px)\">\n<div class=\"Pos(r) Ovy(h)\">\n<div>\n<h1 class=\"slideshow-headline Fw(700) Fz(13px) Mb(4px)\"><\/h1>\n<div class=\"slideshow-description Pend(12px)\">Kim Yo-Jong is vice department director of the Central Committee of the Worker&#8217;s Party of Korea &#8212; and little sister to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, which makes her the most powerful woman in the nuclear-armed state&#8217;s poltical hierarchy (AFP Photo\/STR)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Pos(a) B(0) Start(0) W(100%)\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"Pos(a) B(0) Start(0) W(100%)\">Seoul (AFP) &#8211; With her elevation to North Korea&#8217;s powerful politburo, leader Kim Jong-Un&#8217;s little sister &#8212; and chief image-maker &#8212; has established herself as the most powerful woman in the nuclear-armed state&#8217;s political hierarchy.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"canvas-body Wow(bw) Cl(start) Mb(20px) Lh(30px) Fz(18px) Ff(s) C(#000) D(i)\">\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">Kim Yo-Jong&#8217;s promotion to membership of the North&#8217;s top decision-making body underlines, analysts say, the level of trust her brother places in one of his closest aides and confidantes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">Ruling North Korea has always been a family business, but one where the substantial personal benefits on offer are matched by the potential for a catastrophic &#8212; and sometimes fatal &#8212; fall from grace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">Kim Jong-Un&#8217;s half-brother, Jong-Nam died in agony at a Malaysian airport earlier this year, poisoned by nerve agent-wielding assassins in a hit that North Korea watchers say must have been given the nod by the leader himself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">Yo-Jong is believed to be in her late 20s, making her the youngest member of the reshuffled Workers&#8217; Party politburo that was unveiled at the weekend.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">She is the only one of Kim Jong-Un&#8217;s siblings to hold an official title and &#8212; in a family tree complicated by their father Kim Jong-Il&#8217;s various marriages and partnerships &#8212; enjoys a special relationship with her brother in that they also share the same mother.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">&#8220;They share a life-long bond and her promotion to the politburo means Kim Jong-Un has complete trust in her,&#8221; said Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">&#8220;She could be the one to take over from Kim in the event of his absence,&#8221; Yang told AFP.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">Like her brother, Yo-Jong was partly educated in Switzerland and her first explicit appearance in North Korea&#8217;s state media came in 2009 when she accompanied her father on a visit to an agricultural university.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">She became a regular member of Kim Jong-Il&#8217;s entourage until his death in 2011 and featured prominently in official photos of the funeral, mourning alongside her brother.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">After Kim Jong-Un took over the leadership, her public career in the party propaganda department progressed in leaps and bounds and, in 2014, she was listed as a &#8220;vice department director&#8221; in the party&#8217;s central committee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">According to Michael Madden, editor of the North Korea Leadership Watch website, her official propaganda role made her &#8220;the leading image maker for her brother and (North Korea) as a whole.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">With the exception of Kim Jong-Un&#8217;s wife, Ri Sol-Ju, Yo-Jong is the only relative with whom the supreme leader is known to have a close relationship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">External recognition of her position and influence came earlier this year when she was named among seven North Korean officials targeted with US sanctions for &#8220;ongoing and serious human rights abuses and censorship activities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">Cheong Seong-Chang a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute think-tank in Seoul said her promotion to the politburo presaged a more visible presence at the top of the top of the political hierarchy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">&#8220;She is expected to play increasingly greater roles down the road,&#8221; Cheong said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">North Korea watchers have long speculated that Yo-Jong was being groomed to play the same leadership supporting role as her once powerful aunt, Kim Kyong-Hui.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">Kyong-Hui was a close aide to her own brother and late leader Kim Jong-Il for decades, assuming senior positions in the party and becoming a four-star general in 2010.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">But she largely disappeared from public view after her husband Jang Song-Thaek was executed in 2013 for charges including treason.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\">She and Jang had been seen as the ultimate Pyongyang power couple, and instrumental in smoothing Kim Jong-Un&#8217;s transition to power, before Jang fell from grace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ruling North Korea is a family business, and Kim Jong-Un&#8217;s little sister has emerged as its most powerful woman\u2026 &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/bndl.tw\/l6qiodQb\">http:\/\/bndl.tw\/l6qiodQb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kim Yo-Jong is vice department director of the Central Committee of the Worker&#8217;s Party of Korea &#8212; and little sister to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, which makes her the most powerful woman in the nuclear-armed state&#8217;s poltical hierarchy (AFP Photo\/STR) Seoul (AFP) &#8211; With her elevation to North Korea&#8217;s powerful politburo, leader Kim Jong-Un&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13826,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-other","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/wanfahminfaiz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/wanfahminfaiz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/wanfahminfaiz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/wanfahminfaiz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13826"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/wanfahminfaiz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1876"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/wanfahminfaiz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1883,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/wanfahminfaiz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1876\/revisions\/1883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/wanfahminfaiz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/wanfahminfaiz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/wanfahminfaiz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}