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Kim Yo-jong

The role of Kim Yo-jong, first vice director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department (PAD) of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), appears to have been “upgraded to the level of leader” during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent North Korea visit, the National Intelligence Service said (NIS) on June 25.

Meeting at the National Assembly that morning with Lee Hye-hoon, a lawmaker with the Bareunmirae Party and chairperson of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, the NIS reported that Kim’s role “has been upgraded to the level of leaders along the lines of WPK Vice Chairman Ri Su-yong or Supreme People’s Assembly Presidium President Choe Ryong-hae.”

“If anything, we believe there has been an adjustment of rules in which Kim Yo-jong’s importance has increased,” the NIS told Lee. Commenting on recent appearances at official settings by Hyon Song-wol, director of the Samjiyon Orchestra and deputy director of the PAD, the NIS said she “is in charge of events that were Kim Yo-jong’s area in the past.”

Meanwhile, the absence of WPK Vice Chairman Kim Yong-chol from the North Korea-US summit was taken as a sign that his stature has diminished.

“An examination of the seat placements at the time of the welcoming event showed that Ri Su-yong’s place was ahead of the WPK vice chairman’s, which was previously a higher-ranking position [than Ri’s],” the NIS said.

“This suggests that the Foreign Ministry’s stature has risen and the Foreign Ministry team is playing a leading role on external issues,” the agency concluded.

The NIS commented on several “exceptional” aspects of Xi’s visit, including the North’s cordial reception and use of terminology reflecting a “state visit”; Xi’s accompaniment by Chinese minister-level figures from economic and military areas; and the presence of Xi’s wife Peng Liyuan. Noting the presence of senior economic and military officials – including National Development and Reform Commission Minister He Lifeng, Commerce Minister Zhong Shan, and military figures such as Political Work Department Director Miao Hua – the NIS said, “We believe the discussions focused on supporting livelihoods within the framework of international sanctions against North Korea.”

“Based on the presence of Commerce Minister Zhong Shan, it appears there were discussions on plans for indirect support, including more relaxed conditions for North Korea tourism and the encouragement of art and other cultural exchange,” the NIS explained.

“We cannot rule out the possibility that they also discussed resuming high-level military exchanges,” the NIS added.

The NIS further explained that North Korea and China had discussed increasing cooperation in various areas, stressing their socialist ideological bonds. In terms of denuclearization, it said, “We believe they agreed to closely coordinate under the current political situation and expressed their mutual support.” As factors behind China’s decision to visit, the NIS cited the effects of the G20 Summit and demonstrations in Hong Kong.

Regarding protocol, the NIS noted that Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju “accompanied [Xi] to his accommodations late in the evening and were present with Xi and his wife for over 60% of their 27-hour stay, indicating a very high level of protocol and cordiality.” The NIS also noted the presence of a card section with images of Xi and Chinese-style table arrangements. North Korea additionally used the term “state visit” in place of “official goodwill visit” – which it had used in the past with Chinese President Hu Jintao – in what the NIS interpreted as an “effort to underscore their relationship as normal states.”

By Jung Yu-gyung and Jang Na-rye, staff reporters

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