New book highlights 'ambitious' sister behind North Korea's leader

Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / Korea Times file

Entering into politics was Kim Yo-jong's own decision despite opposition, author claims

By Jung Min-ho

Who will succeed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if something suddenly happened to him? This has become one of the most frequently asked questions about the reclusive state since his health issues came to light three years ago.

The book, authored by Yoshihiro Makino, former Seoul bureau chief of the Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, provides no clear-cut answer to that question. However, it does provide some useful insights in that, given the opportunity, Kim Yo-jong is more than willing to take the mantle.

She has always been ambitious and enjoys being at the center of public attention, he said. In the final months before his death, Kim Jong-il, her father, told Kim Yo-jong, that were she a man, she would succeed him, and she insisted she would participate in politics, according to "Kim Jong-un to Kim Yo-jong," published in Korea last month.

The cover of "Kim Jong-un to Kim Yo-jong" by Yoshihiro Makino, former Seoul bureau chief of the Asahi Shimbun

"Perhaps it (the decision) was motivated by his remarks, or she might have had a rebellious mind such as, 'Why shouldn't women participate in politics?' Kim Jong-il's sister Kim Kyong-hui, who was at the meeting for his succession decision, opposed Kim Yo-jong's participation in politics," Makino wrote. "After his death, Kim Jong-un, who lacked personal connections and experience, started relying on Kim Yo-jong, and she took to it like a fish to water."

The author attributed North Korea's wide use of mobile phones today ― thought to be more than 6.5 million users ― to Kim Yo-jong, who he said convinced her father to adopt the technology for the public based on her belief that it would help the economy grow. And she was not wrong.

Makino also said she was behind the policy of selectively opening up to the culture of the West in the early years of Kim Jong-un's rule. In July 2012, Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters appeared on a concert stage in North Korea for the first time, making headlines in the world's media, which raised questions over a possible motive. But the policy was eventually discarded as concerns rose over the faster-than-expected spread of South Korean and Western pop culture.

There is no doubt that Kim Yo-jong is one of the most powerful figures in North Korea. But does that mean she will succeed the leader if something bad happens to him? Makino thinks it is not impossible, but her roles so far ― particularly the ones she played during the Pyongyang-Washington summits in Singapore (2018) and Vietnam (2019) ― suggest that she is not the official heir apparent.

"If she is his successor, she would have not been assigned to tape-cutting or taking flowers given to her brother, because those are not the roles of a leader. In the case of Kim Jong-un, an heir apparent to Kim Jong-il, he always had an entourage, which he needed to make the charismatic image of the next leader," he wrote.

Yet, if there is any person who could claim the title of the regime's second in command, Kim Yo-jong is the one, said Makino, who described her as the person the North Korean leader trusts the most and one of the very few people who is allowed to talk about his health condition.

The day to confirm the assumption might come sooner than expected. Makino claimed Kim Jong-un has many chronic health problems. Citing sources, the author said German doctors performed surgery on him in Pyongyang in February 2020. If something serious occurs, the North looks for outside help, and it must have been the case that day, he said. Citing sources in Japan, he added, it is possible that Kim Jong-un still lives with incurable brain or heart problems.

A few months later at a major military parade held in Pyongyang, Kim Yo-jong did not stand next to her brother in an assistant role ― that given to Hyon Song-wol, the leader of the Moranbong Band and the Samjiyon Orchestra. Instead, she was sitting with other party cadres.

Makino said the role change could be part of efforts to build a new image as a politician for Kim Yo-jong, who has since been in charge of conveying Pyongyang's messages to Seoul and Washington.