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

Kim Yo Jong, left, with her sister-in-law and brother Kim Jong Un.

(Image credit: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

published 4 June 2019

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.

Subscribe to The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox