North Korea leader's sister promoted at party congress
Kim Yo Jong, previously a deputy department director, was named as a full department director by the ruling Workers' Party Central Committee on Monday (Feb 23).
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, attends a reception in the Great Hall of People following a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing on Sep 3, 2025. (File photo: AFP/Jade Gao)
SEOUL: The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been given a promotion in the ruling party structure during a rare party congress, state media said on Tuesday (Feb 24).
The Workers' Party Central Committee on Monday named Kim Yo Jong - previously a deputy department director - as a full department director, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said.
Thousands of party elites have packed the capital Pyongyang for a once-in-five-years summit of the ruling Workers' Party, a gathering that directs state efforts on everything from diplomacy to war planning.
The congress offers a rare glimpse into the political workings of reclusive North Korea, and is widely seen as a forum for Kim to flex his grip on power.
Kim Yo Jong has long been among her brother's closest lieutenants and one of the most influential women in the isolated regime.
Born in the late 1980s, according to the South Korean government, she is one of three children born to Kim's father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il, and his third known partner, former dancer Ko Yong Hui.
She was educated in Switzerland alongside her brother and rose rapidly up the ranks once he inherited power after their father's death in 2011.
Leader Kim is expected to unveil the next phase in North Korea's nuclear weapons programme later in the days-long congress.
