Amid speculation she was told to lay low, Kim Jong Un's sister makes public appearance

After months of speculation over her whereabouts, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, was spotted Tuesday in the audience of the country's mass games in Pyongyang.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency showed video of Kim Yo Jong sitting with her brother, his wife, and other top officials, The Associated Press reports. Kim Yo Jong was last seen in public on April 12, when she attended a meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly.

Due to their close relationship and her high position in North Korea's ruling party, it seemed strange that she did not accompany her brother on his trip to Russia in April. Last week, a South Korean newspaper reported that after Kim Jong Un's February summit in Hanoi with President Trump flopped, Kim Yo Jong was told to keep a low profile. The paper also reported that five top North Korean officials were executed after being accused of spying for the United States, and others were banished to camps for political prisoners or condemned to forced hard labor.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Kim Yong Chol was one of the men who was reportedly sent away, but he was seen at the mass games and at a concert over the weekend. Analyst Cheong Seong-Chang told AP it's likely Kim Yo Jong was just taking a break from being in the public eye, and had she been disciplined for her role in the failed summit, she would not have attended the Supreme People's Assembly meeting in April.