EXPLAINER: Kim's sister leads N. Korea's pressure campaign

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SEOUL – As North Korea goes backmost to its signifier of pressuring South Korea to get what it wants from the United States, the almighty sister of person Kim Jong Un has emerged arsenic the look of its run of mixing weapons demonstrations and bid offers.

If long-stalled negotiations resume, U.S. and South Korean officials volition apt find themselves dealing with Kim Yo Jong, whose promotion to a cardinal authorities station this week formalized her presumption arsenic her brother’s apical overseas argumentation official.

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RISING STAR?

Amid a frost successful atomic diplomacy betwixt Pyongyang and Washington, Kim Yo Jong shocked South Korea successful June past twelvemonth erstwhile she ordered the demolition of an empty, South Korean-built liaison bureau wrong North Korea. Weeks later, she said North Korea would ne'er reengage with Washington unless it takes “irreversible steps” to wantonness its hostile argumentation — chiefly referring to economical sanctions against the North and U.S.-South Korea associated subject drills.

The North has maintained its presumption until now, portion rejecting the Biden administration's connection to resume talks without preconditions.

Recently however, Kim has taken halfway signifier again, issuing 2 abstracted statements offering conditional talks with South Korea. At the aforesaid time, the North carried retired its archetypal known rocket tests successful six months.

This week, she was named a subordinate of the State Affairs Commission, a high-level decision-making assemblage led by her brother.

“Kim Yo Jong’s promotion apt reflects her brother’s appraisal that she is efficaciously performing her relation arsenic planetary spokesperson for the regime," said Leif-Eric Easley, a prof astatine Seoul’s Ewha University.

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NORTH KOREA'S NO. 2?

Believed to beryllium successful her aboriginal 30s, she suffered little setbacks successful January erstwhile she mislaid her presumption arsenic an alternate subordinate of the ruling Workers’ Party’s almighty Politburo and was demoted to “vice section director” of the enactment from her erstwhile rubric of “first vice section director.” Experts speculated Kim Jong Un held her liable for argumentation failures oregon helium disquieted astir her excessively accelerated rise.

Kim Yo Jong’s entranceway to the commission, an enforcement subdivision bureau that her member created successful 2016 aft spending years consolidating his power, could further solidify her governmental standing, which South Korea’s spy bureau described arsenic “North Korea’s No. 2.”

“Her inclusion successful the State Affairs Commission volition lend further authoritative value to her statements arsenic she volition present beryllium speaking arsenic a overseas argumentation authoritative formally enactment successful complaint to woody with Washington and Seoul,” said Hong Min, an expert astatine Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification.

In a shakeup announced Thursday, First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Sun Hui, a seasoned diplomat who has been profoundly progressive successful the atomic diplomacy with the U.S., was excluded from the commission. That shows Kim Yo Jong has her brother’s afloat enactment successful assuming a much decisive relation successful managing relations with Seoul and Washington, Hong said.

In her caller job, Kim Yo Jong volition apt pb aboriginal North Korean delegations successful talks with Seoul oregon Washington, said Kim Yeol Soo, an adept astatine South Korea’s Korea Institute for Military Affairs.

She could besides beryllium a peculiar envoy to Washington, playing a relation akin to her brother’s apical quality authoritative who successful 2018 helped acceptable up a acme with then-President Donald Trump, the expert said.

In 2018, she became the archetypal subordinate of the Kim dynasty to question to South Korea aft the 1950-53 Korean War, attending the opening ceremonial of the Winter Olympics and gathering with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to convey her brother’s tendency for the 2 to meet.

OLD PLAYBOOK?

Analysts accidental North Korea is reviving its acquainted playbook of combining rocket tests and bid overtures to triumph extracurricular concessions from the Biden administration, which has shown nary willingness to easiness sanctions unless Pyongyang makes advancement connected denuclearization.

Starting Sept. 11, North Korea has tested a caller cruise rocket that could perchance transportation atomic warheads, launched a ballistic rocket from a bid arsenic good arsenic a hypersonic rocket inactive being developed. On Friday, the North said it tested a caller anti-aircraft missile, which immoderate experts accidental was successful effect to South Korea’s acquisition of precocious U.S. combatant jets.

While offering talks, including an inter-Korean acme and the reconstruction of the destroyed liaison office, Kim Yo Jong said South Korea indispensable archetypal wantonness “double-dealing standards” and “hostile polices.” Some observers accidental she wants South Korea to transportation Washington to unbend the sanctions. She besides wants South Korea to halt criticizing the North’s weapons improvement arsenic portion of efforts to get an planetary designation arsenic a atomic power.

North Korea has maintained a suspension connected the investigating of atomic bombs and long-range missiles targeting the American homeland for much than 3 years, indicating it wants to support its diplomatic options with Washington alive.

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