North Korea
Mystery of the unknown: who is the mysterious woman at Kim Jong-un’s side?
North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong-un enters parliament – followed by the mysterious woman
© “The Times” screenshot / Phuong DPRK Daily
Only a select few belong to the inner circle of North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong-un. But for a few months now, an unknown woman has been seen at his side. So far there has only been speculation about their identity.
She wears glasses, usually wears a subtle blazer dress and is always armed with a black handbag. A woman whose identity has so far been a mystery has been sighted alongside North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong-un for months.
Photos and videos from the state-controlled media sometimes show the unknown next to Kim, sometimes more in the background. However, her presence at important parliamentary meetings and proximity to other senior leaders suggest the woman is now part of the dictator’s inner circle – fueling speculation about the connection between the two.
Speculations about relationship with Kim Jong-un
Last week she made two public appearances: First, the woman accompanied Kim with folders under her arm to his speech on Thursday before the Supreme People’s Assembly, in which he announced that North Korea would never give up its nuclear weapons and missiles. A day later she took the side of the ruler and his sister Kim Yo-jong – the as secret number two in the country – take part in a big outdoor concert.
In February, the US website “NK News“, who reports intensely and critically on North Korea, drew attention to the new woman in Kim’s circle. At the time, she brought the ruler’s speech to the stage. “She was usually seen with a purse, which may have contained items that the North Korean leader would bring up at any time Retrieval needs, such as his phone, cigarettes or medication,” writes NK News, which has since followed her public appearances. The news site estimates that the woman is 30 to 40 years old and speculates that she may even be personally related to Kim .
Due to North Korea’s isolation from the rest of the world, however, the family relationships of the Kim dynasty are also not clearly comprehensible. It is widely believed that the North Korean ruler has at least two half-sisters named Kim Sol-song and Kim Chun-song, both of whom are said to have been born in the 1970s. Elder half-sister Kim Sol-song is said to be “active behind the scenes in the party leadership” – but very little is known about Kim Chun-song. However, according to “NK News”, the mysterious stranger at Kim’s side is likely to be younger than the two women would be today.
Few women in North Korea’s top echelons
The Kim dynasty, founded by Kim Il-sung in 1948, has ruled North Korea for three generations. In the past, there were rarely women in management positions. That has changed under the dictator Kim Jong-un, who has been in power since 2011, who has filled several powerful official and unofficial posts with women. At the beginning of the year, he appointed Choe Son-hui, the country’s first female foreign minister. In 2018, he also gave his wife Ri Sol-ju the title of “Respected First Lady,” which North Korea experts say is a big leap in her political status.
The most prominent example, however, is his sister Kim Yo-jong, who is considered the ruler’s closest adviser and now also represents him on the international stage. Last year, her brother appointed her to the state’s highest decision-making body. Many see the influential woman, estimated to be 34, as the real mastermind behind the carefully constructed propaganda machinery at home and abroad.
Even if the mystery of the mysterious stranger at Kim’s side remains unsolved for the time being, one thing is for sure. Whoever the woman is, she can’t get past his sister.
Sources: “NK News“, “Guardians“, “TheTimes“, “ZDF“, using Reuters material