Kim Jong-un’s sister is the “real brains” behind dopey dictator
Kim Yo-jong was studious, her biographer says, but her tyrant brother skived off school
KIM Jong-un’s sister is the real brains behind his throne – because the dopey dictator was a “poor student” who skived off school.
That’s the brutal verdict of North Korea expert Sung-Yoon Lee, who wrote the first biography of the tyrant’s sister, Kim Yo-jong.
He said: “I view Kim Yo-jong as the brains behind the family operation.
“When the two lived in Switzerland, about 1996 to early 2001, Kim Yo-jong was very studious. She was a good student.
“She speaks English very well – I heard from at least two Americans who have come face to face in contact with her, and even held hours-long meetings with her and her brother.
“Whereas the brother does not speak a word of English, he does not speak German, he was a poor student – often skipped class, didn't go to school at all.”
Before the North Korean leader revealed his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, to the public, his sister was often touted as a potential successor.
But Dr Lee, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center, believes the sister is still in the running, since Kim Ju-ae is only a pre-teen.
And if she ascends to power, he predicts a bloodbath.
He said: “Only a direct-line descendant of the state founder, Kim Il-sung, has the divine right to rise to assume the throne.
“For the foreseeable future, until one of Kim Jong-un's children becomes an adult in their mid-20s or late 20s, there is only one person that fits that bill.
“Someone that is a direct-line descendant, is an adult, is capable, and has long played a crucial role in government – and that is Kim Yo-jong.”
He continued: “Will she be more compliant? Will she be more pleasant? I don't know, but I'm quite sceptical.
“We've seen in the early phase of the previous and current North Korean leaders: purges, bloodbaths.
“With Kim Jong-un's ascent to the throne in late 2011, early 2012, we saw over the next three or four years hundreds of purges of the senior-most officials, generals and so on.”
According to Dr Lee, Kim Yo-jong became a walking life insurance policy for her brother after his Covid-19 scare – ready to rule in the event of his death.
And her rapid rise during the pandemic years has made her the “co-crime boss” of North Korea, he said.
As an example of her cunning, Dr Lee highlighted her charm offensive against neighbouring South Korea in 2018, when she visited for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
He said: “She was the good cop to her bad cop brother in 2018 when she visited South Korea wearing a sunny disposition.
“But as of 2020, she's assumed the role of even worse cop to her brother's bad cop.”
In this new, more sinister role, she blew up the joint-liaison building funded by South Korea on North Korean soil, and warned she would send troops to the border.
Dr Lee said: “About 10 days later, Kim Jong-un dramatically announced 'we will suspend that plan for now.'
“Thus, Kim Jong-un came across as the more restrained, the more reasonable individual to his bellicose sister.
“I say this is a very clever role reversal, because there will come a time, as there always has in the past, when North Korea reverts dramatically to a post-provocation peace ploy.
“And most likely, Kim Yo-jong will be the face of that sunny-disposition charm offensive.”
Dr Lee gave his conclusions in an interview for the Pen News YouTube channel.
His book, The Sister: The extraordinary story of Kim Yo Jong, the most powerful woman in North Korea, is available now in hardback, with a paperback edition launching on July 11.