Kim Yo Jong: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister: Who is she?

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, has been promoted in a rare party congress of the reclusive nation, as reported by state media on Tuesday (February 24, 2026). 

Previously the deputy department director, she has now become a full department director, said Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). 

But who is Ms Jong, and why does she have so much power in the functioning of North Korea? Let’s take a look. 

Early life

Kim Yo Jong was born in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, with her birth year reported as either 1987 (South Korean intelligence) or 1989 (U.S. Treasury Department). She is the youngest child of former leader Kim Jong Il and Ko Yong Hui.

From the late 1990s to early 2000s, she studied and lived in Bern, Switzerland, with her brother and now the leader of the nation, Kim Jong Un. She is reported to have attended the Liebefeld-Steinhölzli public school under heavy security with the pseudonym “Pak Mi-hyang”

After returning to North Korea, she graduated with a degree in computer science from Kim Il Sung University in 2007.

Entry and rise in politics 

Ms Yong was named as a junior cadre in the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) in 2007. She reportedly played a key role in managing his personal secretariat and succession arrangements following the stroke of her father, Kim Jong Il in 2008.

She first appeared in state media during her father’s funeral in 2011, standing behind her brother. Her official name was first mentioned in 2014 when she was identified as a “senior official.” 

Late that year, she was appointed as vice director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, where she is said to have crafted her brother’s carefully curated public image and the state’s cultish personality. 

Global and diplomatic breakthrough

Kim Yo Jong with her brother Kim Jong Un.
| Photo Credit:
AP

Kim Yo Jong came into the global spotlight during the 2018 Winter Olympics, when she became the first member of the Kim dynasty to visit South Korea, leading the North Korean delegation. She also played a key role in Kim Jong Un’s summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump. 

North Korea’s ‘bad cop.’ 

Kim Yo Jong has been known for her vitriol against Seoul. In January 2026, she dismissed South Korea’s hopes for improved relations with the north as an “illusion.’ She had also previously threatened to destroy the Inter-Korean Liaison Office, an office established to facilitate 24/7 direct communication between the two nations. The office was blown up by North Korea in June 2020.

Ms. Yong has long threatened military action against the U.S. In March 2025, she threatened “high-profile provocations” in response to the arrival of a U.S. aircraft carrier in South Korea. She has also frequently mocked the South’s nuclear capabilities. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Yong sparked controversy by blaming South Korea for allegedly spreading the virus into the North, via leaflets, and once again threatening “deadly retaliatory” measures. 

Will she be Kim Jong Un’s heir? 

Kim Yo Jong was once considered the primary heir to the North Korean leader, but narratives have now shifted. Kim Jong Un’s daughter Kim Ju Ae is widely regarded as the ‘heir apparent.’ Ms Ae, 13, has appeared at major state functions and international events like the 2025 state visit to China, solidifying assumptions that she will be the next leader of the nation. 

Some experts predict a potential power struggle between Kim Yo Jong and Kim Ju Ae as the former currently holds vast political and military support, but that may change after the formal elevation of Ms Ae. 

(With inputs from Reuters)