Kim Yo Jong

Some Lesser Known Facts About Kim Yo Jong

• According to the U.S. Treasury, she was born on 26 September 1989.

• She spent her early childhood at her mother’s home with her brothers and sisters.

• She went to Liebefeld Steinhölzli Public School in Bern, Switzerland, where she used the name ‘Pak Mi-hyang.’

• During this time, she built a close relationship with her brother, Kim Jong Un, who later became the leader of North Korea.

• In 2007, Kim started working as a junior member in the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, under the guidance of her father and her aunt, Kim Kyong-hui.

  

• In 2009 and 2010, she supported her father’s plan to pass leadership to the next generation.

• She also worked with the National Defence Commission and her father’s secret staff.

• In March 2009, she joined a small group of close associates and family members who appeared with her father in public. However, she was not noticed much until September 2010.

• In September 2010, she was seen among the people at the 3rd Conference of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

  

• Kim Yo Jong came into the limelight during her father Kim Jong Il’s funeral in December 2011. She was seen with her brother Kim Jong Un and led senior party officials as they bowed at their father’s casket.

  

• In 2012, she started working at the National Defence Commission, where she managed her brother’s tours, including making plans for his trips, schedule, security, and other needs.

• In November 2012, she was shown on Korean Central Television with her brother and aunt at a military riding ground.

  

• In March 2014, state media officially mentioned her for the first time when she went with her brother to vote for the Supreme People’s Assembly.

  

• She then became a “senior official” in the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee.

• In October 2014, she reportedly took over some state duties while her brother was getting medical treatment.

• In November 2014, she became the First Deputy Director of the WPK’s Propaganda and Agitation Department.

• Kim Yo Jong then started working as a vice-director at a department where she strengthened Kim Jong Un‘s power by working on projects that promoted his image.

• Her husband, Choe Song, is the second son of a noted government official named Choe Ryong-hae in North Korea.

• Reportedly, Choe Song attended Kim Il Sung University, like Kim Yo Jong, and works either at Room 39 of the Workers’ Party or in a military unit protecting the supreme leader.

• Kim Yo Jong gave birth to a child in May 2015.

• In July 2015, she was seen as the main leader of this department, while the official director, Kim Ki-nam, held a smaller role.

• After that, she began working as a vice-minister.

• Kim Yo Jong often goes with Kim Jong Un on his inspection trips.

• She frequently participates in the summits between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.

  

• Reportedly, she is the main force behind building her brother’s personality, who copies the style of their grandfather, Kim Il Sung.

• A North Korean defector, Thae Yong-ho, said in 2017 that Kim Yo Jong was responsible for organising all the big public events in North Korea.

• She frequently advises her brother to represent himself as a ‘man of the people,’ for example, by riding amusement park rides and showing friendship with basketball player Dennis Rodman.

• In 2017, the U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted her after they claimed that she was involved in human rights abuses and controlling information in North Korea.

• In October 2017, Kim Yo Jong was appointed as a member of the Politburo and became the second woman ever appointed to this group.

• Many people thought that her promotion meant she was taking over the role of her aunt, Kim Kyong-hui, who was no longer active in the government and was said to have a good relationship with Kim Yo Jong.

• She was also appointed in charge of the State Security Department.

  

• During the 2018 Winter Olympics, it was reported that Kim Yo Jong was pregnant again.

• On 9 February 2018, Kim Yo Jong attended the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, which were organised in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

  

• This was the first time since the Korean War that a member of the Kim family went to South Korea to attend the Winter Olympics.

• On 10 February 2018, she met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and said that she was sent as a special envoy from Kim Jong Un and gave President Moon a letter written by Kim Jong Un.

  

• In 2018, she attended a meeting with Kim Jong Un’s team during the U.S.-Singapore summit, as well as the 2019 meeting in Hanoi.

• She then started actively participating in North Korea’s diplomatic work and released a formal statement in March 2020 as the first deputy department director of her party.

• She is connected to Office 39, a secret group which reportedly collects illegal money for North Korea’s supreme leader.

• In 2020, Kim Yo Jong got angry when the United Nations criticised North Korea’s human rights record.

• After that, she made a statement that blamed South Korea for shooting a South Korean official.

• Kim Yong-hyun, a professor, once claimed that promoting Kim Yo Jong and others showed that Kim Jong Un was replacing the old leaders from his father’s time with a new group.

• Tom O’Connor from Newsweek, a media house, agreed with Kim Yong-hyun’s statement. Tom said that Kim Yo Jong’s rise was part of Kim Jong Un’s plan to bring in younger people to key roles.

• After that, Kim Yo Jong was chosen as a member of the Supreme People’s Assembly in the 2019 North Korean parliamentary election, representing Kallimgil.

  

• In April 2019, she was removed from the Politburo for some time after Kim Jong Un blamed her for the failure of denuclearisation talks with the United States. She was put back in the Politburo in April 2020.

• On 10 January 2021, she was removed again from the Politburo after the 8th Party Congress and was lowered in rank from first deputy department director to deputy department director.

• However, some experts claimed that she still had the same influence in the government despite these changes.

• In April 2020, there were rumours that Kim Jong Un was very sick. This made people think that Kim Yo Jong could be the next leader of North Korea.

• During this time, many people started talking about her on social media through videos, while her fans started supporting her.

• On 8 July 2020, Lee Kyung-jae, a South Korean lawyer, sued Kim for her role in destroying the Inter-Korean Liaison Office.

• Lee also sued Pak Jong-chon, the Chief of the General Staff of North Korea’s army. Lee claimed that Kim had ordered the destruction of the liaison office and was responsible for it.

• In August 2020, Kim Yo Jong got attention online as the future leader of North Korea when reports claimed that Kim Jong Un might be in a coma.

• In March 2021, she criticised joint military drills done virtually in South Korea and called them a serious threat.

• She warned the US government under President Joe Biden to avoid starting conflicts if it wanted peace for the next four years.

• Kim threatened to close the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country and the Kumgangsan International Travel group, along with other related organisations.

• She said that the cooperation and exchanges with South Korea, which she called hostile, were no longer needed. Kim claimed that she reported these plans to Kim Jong Un.

• In September 2021, she was promoted to be a member of North Korea’s State Affairs Commission.

• In September 2022, Kim spoke to the Assembly for her brother and told South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to ‘shut his mouth.’ She said that Yoon had ‘nothing better to say.’

• After that, she blamed South Korea for bringing COVID-19 into North Korea. She warned that if the virus returned to North Korea, she would take action against South Korea.

• In September 2023, Kim Yo Jong went with Kim Jong Un to a summit in Russia with President Vladimir Putin.

• During the visit, she was with Kim Jong Un when he signed a visitor book at the Vostochny Cosmodrome.

  

• In 2023, after the U.S. and South Korea strengthened their military partnership, she called President Biden ‘an old man with no future.’ She also called former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ‘a hungry dog happy to get a bone.’

• On 31 December 2024, at a New Year’s show, Kim Yo Jong was seen with two children, a boy and a girl, who were thought to be hers. This was the first time she appeared with children in official media.

  

• These children were seen again at the Choe Hyon destroyer launching ceremony on 25 April 2025. South Korean intelligence officials believe that Kim has three children. The oldest child and the youngest child are both boys.

• She is a trained ballet dancer.

  

• She is a fitness enthusiast and practises karate regularly.

  

• She is often spotted enjoying alcoholic beverages on various occasions.