Kim Yo Jong attends New Year’s event with two children

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was spotted holding the hand of a young boy and walking beside a young girl during a New Year’s celebration in Pyongyang on Tuesday. The scene, aired on state-run media, has led to speculation that the children might be her own, a view reportedly shared by the South Korean government.

On Wednesday, footage aired by Korean Central Television (KCTV) showed Kim Yo-jong entering Pyongyang’s “May Day Stadium” with the children during the celebratory event. South Korean officials are reportedly monitoring the situation closely, considering the possibility that the children are her biological offspring, as senior North Korean officials attended the event with their families. Unlike their father, Kim Jong Il, who shrouded his personal life in secrecy, Kim Jong Un has taken a different approach, appearing alongside his daughter, Ju Ae, at major public events since 2022, and this shift raises the likelihood that his sister Kim Yo Jong may have adopted a similar strategy.

North Korea has never officially disclosed details about Kim Yo Jong’s husband, children, or pregnancies. However, intelligence reports and witness accounts suggest she has given birth at least twice. In April 2015, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) informed parliament that Kim Yo Jong was expected to give birth the following month. At the time, the NIS speculated that her husband might be a former classmate from Kim Il Sung University, though his identity remains unconfirmed. In an interview with The Dong-A Ilbo, Park Jie-won, a South Korean lawmaker who traveled to Pyongyang in September 2018 as part of an inter-Korean summit delegation, revealed that a senior North Korean official had mentioned Kim Yo Jong gave birth shortly before the historic April 27 Panmunjom summit. “At that time, she appeared slightly heavier, but this time she looked slimmer than before,” Park said in the interview.


Kyu-Jin Shin newjin@donga.com