Kim Jong-un’s Sister Reportedly Removed From North Korea’s Executive Committee

Kim Yo-jong was thrown into the spotlight in April 2020 after Kim Jong-un’s mysterious disappearance from the public radar. South Korean media previously reported that the woman, said to be in her mid-thirties, had been put in charge of relations with Seoul.

Kim Jong-un’s sister was removed from the list of the executive committee of the governing Workers’ Party following the recent elections, the Daily Mail reported, citing North Korea’s state-run media the KCNA. According to the newspaper, Kim Yo-jong’s name was absent from the list of members of the Politburo following the recent party elections, which raises questions about her status.

The news comes days before Kim Yo-jong was to take the leadership podium at the governing party’s congress.

In August, South Korean intelligence said Kim Jong-un’s sister was “de-facto second-in-command” of North Korea, while some experts suggested that the woman held a position powerful enough to potentially enable her to displace her brother. It is believed that the unexpected escalation of tensions between North and South Korea was the result of Kim Yo-jong being put in charge of relations with Seoul.

Commenting on the news, Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at Kyungnam University in Seoul, said it is too early to draw conclusions about the future of Kim Yo-jong.

Michael Madden, an expert on North Korea at the Stimson Center, said Kim Yo-jong remains an influential figure in the government regardless of whether her name is on the list of the Workers’ Party’s executive committee or not.

Sourse: sputniknews.com