Kim Yo-jong first entered the public eye during one of North Korea’s darkest moments. Now she is back on stage for one of its brightest – helming Pyongyang’s Olympic charm offensive
From Eric Clapton to Dennis Rodman, she has scripted an image makeover with a finesse few would have expected of the hermit kingdom.
As North Korea takes the stage with the opening of the Pyeongchang Olympics, its sudden shift from menacing hermit to engaging debutante is attributed to Kim Jong-un’s baby sister Kim Yo-jong, who is said to be the mastermind behind a rebranding campaign that includes her brother befriending Dennis Rodman, staging photo ops at amusement parks and possibly even accepting South Korea’s invitation to the Olympics.
The deputy director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department within the Worker’s Party, she first entered the public eye in 2011 at one of the darkest points in North Korean history, during the funeral of her father, Kim Jong-il. Now she appears on the world stage at arguably the brightest moment in its recent history, blazing the trail with a stunning Olympic charm offensive.
A television screen in Seoul shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his sister Kim Yo-jong. Photo: AP
That offensive intensified this week, with the announcement that she would attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics, marking the first time a member of the Kim family has ever entered the country, and sparking hope in the hearts of South Korean liberals that this is a genuine shot at peace. Some worry, though, that the two Koreas have all their work still ahead of them when it comes to peace. “Unification is needed,” said Kim Moon, a coffee shop manager in eastern Seoul, “but the logistics for both countries to adapt to each other’s cultures might not be possible”.
Others fear that North Korea’s charm offensive is merely a ruse. Its Samjiyon Orchestra, expected to perform at the opening ceremony and again on February 11, is led by Hyon Song-wol, an N-pop star who is also the director of the regime’s agitprop bureau. In addition to the 140 orchestra members, North Korea has sent 229 cheerleaders, 30 taekwondo players, a host of reporters and a government delegation.
Hyon Song-wol, head of North Korea's Samjiyon Orchestra. Photo: Rueters
But Kim Yo-jong stands out among them as a notably stark contrast to the typical North Korean official. She was spotted attending an Eric Clapton concert in Singapore in 2011 and is usually seen smiling beside her elder brother as he tours factories and farms. Known in the South as “North Korea’s Ivanka”, she is believed to have her brother’s ear, and lived for a time in veritable isolation with him while they studied together in Switzerland in the late 1990s.
In South Korea, she will join Kim Yong-nam, North Korea’s 90-year-old president of the committee that rules the legislature, which makes him the country’s nominal leader and its de facto second-in-command. US Vice-President Mike Pence, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will also be at the opening ceremony, which has had analysts initially excited about the possibility of an unprecedented meeting. Such a meeting would be a dream come true for Moon, who has staked enormous political capital on Pyeongchang.
More at http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/personalities/article/2132697/kim-jong-uns-baby-sister-ivanka-trump-north-korea
Nigger you have cheap taste in women. Anyways if you hit on Kim Jong Nuke's sister, he will personally supervise your execution.
Dayum she sure is kimchi hot!!!!! Look at that flawless complexion!!!!! She can feast on my man sausage anytime. Imagine how awesome our babies would turn out........
You are utterly hopeless, always thinking the worst of people. Just because you are a moron doesn't make everyone else the same as you.
Not exactly prettier than Ivanka in the looks department, but she sure effortlessly exudes poise and good deportment to say the least. Then again who knows a murderous, vicious bitch might be hiding beneath the soothing exterior.