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On June 3, Kim Yo-jong, first vice director of the WPK Central Committee, makes her first public appearance after the Supreme People’s Assembly on Apr. 12. She is seen next to Ri Sol-ju, the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, during the Mass Games and an artistic performance called “The People’s Country” at the 1st of May Stadium. (Yonhap News)
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Kim Yo-jong makes first public appearance since Supreme People’s Assembly
After Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of the Workers’ Party of North Korea (WPK), appeared at a public event following rumors that he’d been purged, Kim Yo-jong, first vice director of the WPK Central Committee, also made her first public appearance after 53 days. This is expected to quell speculation about why Kim Yo-jong hadn’t been seen since the Supreme People’s Assembly on Apr. 12. There were rumors that she was in poor health or that she’d been ordered to keep a low profile. “The Mass Games and an artistic performance called ‘The People’s Country’ premiered at the 1st of May Stadium [on Rungra Island in Pyongyang] on June 3,” the WPK’s official organ the Rodong Sinmun reported in a full-page cover story. According to the same article, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife attended the opening events along with Kim Yo-jong. A photograph published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) showed Kim Yo-jong sitting alongside her older brother, Kim Jong-un. This was the first time that Kim Yo-jong has sat next to Ri Sol-ju, wife of the North Korean leader, at a public event. The arrangement of the seating in the VIP section suggests that Kim Yo-jong’s status in the power structure may be even higher than before. An official from South Korea’s Unification Ministry withheld judgment on that particular point, noting that “The order of seating and of names is not always consistent with what role those individuals actually play in policy decisions,” the official said. Kim Yong-chol was also seated in the VIP section, appearing at a public event for the second day in a row. The back-to-back public appearances of Kim Yong-chol and Kim Yo-jong following their long absence from the public eye is prompting speculation that North Korea has completed, or is on the verge of completing, its policy reassessment, including an investigation into the KWP’s United Front Department, following the breakdown of talks in the second North Korea-US summit in Hanoi. Following the concert, Kim “severely criticized their incorrect creative spirit and irresponsible work attitude,” the Rodong Sinmun reported, suggesting that there will be substantial changes to the content and format of “The People’s Country,” which is supposed to be performed through mid-October. By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
