North Korean leader's sister promoted at party congress

(Patria) - North Korean state media reported that the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been promoted within the ruling party during a party congress, AFP reported.

The Workers' Party's Central Committee on Monday appointed Kim Yo Jong, formerly a deputy director of a department, as director of the department, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) from Pyongyang announced.

Thousands of party delegates gathered in the capital Pyongyang for the five-yearly summit of the ruling Workers' Party, a gathering that directs state efforts from diplomacy to war planning.

The congress offers a rare insight into the political workings of reclusive North Korea and is widely seen as a forum where Kim can consolidate his power.

Kim Yo Jong has long been among her brother's closest associates and one of the most influential women in the isolated regime.

Born in the late 1980s, according to the South Korean government, she is one of the three children of Kim's father and predecessor, Kim Jong-il, and his third known partner, former dancer Ko Yong Hui.

She was educated in Switzerland along with her brother and quickly rose through the ranks after he inherited power following his father's death in 2011.

In 2018, she visited South Korea for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, during a period of inter-Korean rapprochement.

Pyongyang also frequently uses her name to issue statements expressing its views or criticizing South Korea and the United States.

Successor

Later during the multi-day congress, Kim Jong-un is expected to present the next phase of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The country's nuclear arsenal has been transformed under Kim from a source of mild global concern to something treated as a real threat.

This is only the ninth time the Workers' Party congress has met under the decades-long rule of the Kim family in North Korea.

Special attention will also be paid to the whereabouts of Kim's teenage daughter, Ju Ae, who has emerged as North Korea's successor, according to the South Korean national intelligence service.

At the previous congress five years ago, Kim declared the United States to be the "greatest enemy" of his nation.

There is great interest in whether Kim might use the congress to soften this stance or to reinforce it.

US President Donald Trump intensified his courtship of Kim during his Asia tour last year, saying he was "100 percent" open to a meeting.

Kim has largely avoided efforts to continue high-level diplomatic dialogue so far.