Debate continues over the likely political role awaiting Kim Yo
Jong [alternate spelling: Kim Yeo
Jung] after her first public appearance at the Supreme People’s
Assembly elections on the 9th. Some are now questioning if the public debut of Kim Jong Eun’s younger
sister will negatively impact his wife, Ri Sol Ju.
Kim Yo Jong’s introduction as a “senior official of the Party Central
Committee” certainly hints at the possibility of a future in the Party
secretariat. The 27-year-old Kim may well find herself advising her brother, not unlike the role once filled by her aunt Kim Kyong Hui.
Indeed, her heritage sees her well placed to
take the lead in idolizing Kim Jong Eun and adding legitimacy to the Kim family legacy via the Party’s powerful Propaganda and Agitation Department.
Kim
Kyong Hui’s extended period of absence may also allow the younger Kim to rise to fill a behind-the-scenes role, although her age and lack of experience remains a serious concern.
Meanwhile, Ri Sol Ju has appeared in public on numerous occasions since her debut on July 6th, 2012. This year, however, she has kept a low profile, emerging only to attend a performance for the
anniversary of the birth of Kim Jong Il on February 16th.
Kim Jong Il was known to have at least four partners during his lifetime [Song Hye Rim, Kim Young
Sook, Ko Young Hee and Kim Ok], although not one ever accompanied him in public.
The decision to have Ri Sol Ju appear arm-in-arm with Kim Jong Eun was largely a strategic one; partly to deflect attention away from his young age, and partly to assure the public of internal stability.
Disappointingly for the regime, rumors slamming Ri Sol Ju as a “cheap performer” have done little to aid its efforts to idolize her husband. Indeed, the recent arrival of Kim Yo Jong has led some experts to surmise that Ri Sol Ju’s days in the limelight are numbered.
One former high-ranking North Korean defector explained to Daily
NK, “If Ri Sol Ju continues to be seen in public in such a high position, the people may hold to their negative assumption that the
Marshal [Kim Jong Eun] is too caught up in trivialities.
Unlike Ri Sol Ju who comes from a low performance background, Kim Yo
Jong is easy to idolize as she comes from the Baekdu bloodline. Ri’s role is likely to lessen as a result.”
“If Kim Yo Jong is already involved with the Party it’s likely she currently holds a role at the Propaganda and Agitation Department. Ri Sol Ju was active in the Unhasu Orchestra,
so she is more likely to stick to a role in the arts,” the defector assessed.
