Kim Jong Un's Sister Demoted; After He Is Crowned New 'General Secretary'

North Korea's Supreme leader Kim Jong Un's sister has now been demoted after the former was promoted to the rank of General Secretary of North Korea's ruling party. The dictator crowned himself with the prestigious title which once belonged to his father and grandfather. This means that the dictator has transferred full power of the North Korean regime onto himself. This has happened after the ruling party held elections for electing members into its Central Committee for discussing the country's diplomatic, military and economic policies for the next five years.

The leader's sister's name found no mention in the list of the Politburo, the party’s top decision-making body. However, she remains a member of the party's Central Committee. In 2017, Kim Yo Jong became the second woman to be a part of the Politburo after her aunt Kim Kyong Hui. Park Won-gon, an international studies professor at South Korea’s Handong Global University said that the move signifies the transfer of governance onto a single person instead of having a set of rules and regulations for running the country. He also said that Kim Jong Un might feel that his sister would go on to form her own power base if she is given a high position in the government.

Kim Yo Jong's Rise To Power

Kim Yo Jong has however gained a lot of popularity and importance by involving herself in North Korea's state affairs. In August 2020, a South Korean spy agency said that she was made North Korea's de facto ruler who recently slammed South Korea's foreign minister. This happened when the latter started doubting North Korea's tally of zero COVID-19 cases. After missing several government meetings, she attended the Politburo in December.

With his current status, Kim Jong Un reportedly plans to reveal the next-generation of nuclear weapons, revamp people's living standards and prep up against the United States. The government plans to overturn the country's economic situation and has decided on building 75,000 more homes in the capital city of Pyongyang and in those regions that were hit by a massive summer typhoon last year. It has also decided on improvising the tourist resort at Mount Kumgang as well as Pyongyang’s subways.

Political observers believe that it is still too early to decide on what Kim Yo Jong's status would be like within the party. Her demotion comes after days after she assumed control over the podium with 38 party executives as the congress began.

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Image Credit- ABC.net