Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong-un’s ‘Princess’ sister, makes power play against South Korea

• Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, has just made a power play that may or may not be authorized by her big brother.
• She had reportedly ordered the destruction of an inter-Korean liaison office last week.
• Kim Yo Jong’s sudden display of power has prompted speculations that Kim Jong-un is on his last legs and is grooming his sister as successor.

Kim Yo Jong, nicknamed “Princess” and sometimes referred to as the “Twisted Sister” of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, has just made a power play that may or may not be authorized by her big brother.

Speculations that she may be North Korea’s new power player arose when she ordered the destruction of an inter-Korean liaison office last week.

Suzanne Scholte, the American founding co-chair of Free North Korea Radio, described her as “cold and ruthless and haughty.”

“Her new aggressiveness is part of the consolidation and solidification of power. Kim Jong Un has to show that if something were to happen to him, there’s a successor and that the Kim family … bloodline is still in power,” the president of the Washington DC Defense Forum continued.

Kim Yo Jong has certainly evolved from being described as simply an aide who would fetch an ashtray for her brother to a new force to be reckoned with.

“There is no No. 2 in North Korea but she is acting like a No. 2. It’s very unlikely she could be doing this on her own. Kim must have given her the authority. That provides him with options for the future,” David Maxwell, a retired US Army Special Forces colonel and North Korea expert, told the Post.

While some may speculate that North Korea would never accept a woman leader, Sean King, an Asian specialist at Park Strategies, told the Post: “She’s fierce and formidable and I don’t think her gender is an issue at all.”

Kim Yo Jong had harshly criticized the South’s leader, Moon Jae-in last week, saying it was “sickening to listen to his speech” that called for peace. She remarked, “He seems to be insane, though he appears to be normal outwardly.”

She also condemned the anti-regime propaganda leaflets launched into North Korea, calling the perpetrators “human scum” and “mongrel dogs.”

North Korea threatened on Friday to flood the South with “leaflet bombs of justice” as retaliation. State news agency KCNA reported on Friday that the North have amassed a pile of leaflets “as big as a mountain.” 

Some speculate that Kim Yo Jong’s sudden display of power could mean that Kim Jong-un is on his last legs and is grooming his sister as successor. Others speculate that perhaps the siblings just want to keep the West guessing.

Maxwell added another theory: “It could be part of a deception strategy. He’s sitting back watching us speculating. Remember this is all about the sanctions and North Korea is taking aim at the south to pressure them to intervene with Washington.”

Source: New York Post