Hidden Story of 'The Sister', Kim Yo-jong (3)

Ryu Hyun-woo's Black Books: Hidden Story of 'The Sister', Kim Yo-jong (3)

Hello everyone, and welcome to “Ryu Hyun-woo’s Black Books.” I’m your host, Mok Yong-jae.

In last week’s broadcast, we discussed Kim Yo-jong’s status within North Korea. Former North Korean Acting Ambassador to Kuwait, Ryu Hyun-woo, evaluated that while Kim Yo-jong is indeed Kim Jong-un’s “closest confidante” and his “mouthpiece,” she cannot be considered the country’s No. 2.

Today, in the final episode about Kim Yo-jong’s hidden stories, we will compare Kim Yo-jong—the younger sister of the current Supreme Leader—with Kim Kyong-hui, who was also the Supreme Leader’s sister during Kim Jong-il’s era.

[Host] First, please tell us how close Kim Jong-un and Kim Yo-jong are. It’s known that they studied abroad together in Switzerland when they were young. Would you say those childhood experiences made their relationship especially strong?

[Ryu Hyun-woo] Kim Jong-un studied in Bern, Switzerland, from September 1998 until the fall of 2000, along with his younger sister Kim Yo-jong. He used the alias “Pak Un,” and Kim Yo-jong went by the name “Jong Sun.” They attended different public schools in Bern.

Their older brother, Kim Jong-chol, had previously attended an international school in Switzerland under the alias “Pak Chol” from 1994 to 1998. International schools often attract the attention of foreign intelligence agencies, leading them to investigate the identities of students. As a result, Kim Jong-chol’s identity was exposed to the media.

That’s likely why Kim Jong-il chose to send Kim Jong-un and Kim Yo-jong to public schools instead. Since Bern is in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, public school classes were taught in German—not English or French. Unsurprisingly, Kim Jong-un, who wasn’t proficient in German, had difficulty adjusting to school life and studies.

[Host] Since both Kim Jong-un and Kim Yo-jong were studying abroad as children, there must have been someone assigned to look after them.

[Ryu Hyun-woo] Yes, there was. Ri Su-yong, who later served as head of the Party’s International Department, played that role. According to my father-in-law, Ri Su-yong previously worked in the Foreign Ministry's Protocol Department before being called by Kim Jong-il in the late 1980s to work in the Party Secretariat. During that time, he taught basic French to Kim Jong-nam, Kim Jong-chol, and Kim Jong-un.

This suggests that Kim Jong-il had already been preparing for their studies in Switzerland for quite some time.

According to classmates who shared the classroom with Kim Jong-un during his time in Switzerland, he was quiet, reserved, and rarely initiated conversations with other students. However, he loved basketball—almost to an obsessive degree.

Since Kim Jong-chol graduated from his international school in 1998, Kim Jong-un and Kim Yo-jong lived abroad just the two of them from 1998 to 2000. Living together in a foreign land, the siblings had to depend on each other, which naturally deepened their trust and bond. I believe this strong sibling trust is the foundation for Kim Yo-jong’s prominent role today.

“Orphaned Early, Kim Jong-un Has No Choice but to Rely on Kim Yo-jong”

[Host] Kim Kyong-hui, Kim Jong-il’s sister, also held high-ranking Party positions, but she wasn’t as publicly vocal as Kim Yo-jong. Would you say their roles were different?

[Ryu Hyun-woo] Kim Jong-il took very good care of his only sister, Kim Kyong-hui. My father-in-law was a classmate of Kim Jong-il at Namsan High School. He said Kim Jong-il treated his motherless sister with the utmost care and affection.

In my view, the difference between Kim Yo-jong and Kim Kyong-hui lies in the power and support structure of the brothers they relied on.

Kim Jong-il studied under his father’s shadow until he was over 50 and attended middle school, high school, and university in North Korea, which gave him many friends and allies. He had a strong network to solidify his power.

In contrast, Kim Jong-un didn’t attend middle or high school in North Korea, and his university education was expedited, so he didn’t build friendships. Simply put, he has no inner circle of his own.

The aides surrounding Kim Jong-un today are all holdovers from his father’s era. His trust in them is based solely on their past loyalty to Kim Jong-il. Because of this, Kim Jong-un inevitably discusses important national matters with Kim Yo-jong.

Also, unlike the introverted Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un is extroverted. This personality difference means that Kim Yo-jong acts as the voice of his intentions, delivering messages on his behalf.

Kim Kyong-hui, meanwhile, didn’t have many chances to play a major role because her father, Kim Il-sung, was alive until she was 50. Moreover, she suffered from infertility, heart disease, and diabetes from a young age and underwent many medical treatments. In short, her health was poor.

On the other hand, Kim Yo-jong lost both parents at a young age and formed what could be called a “shared fate” with her brother, Kim Jong-un, to uphold the North Korean system. Naturally, this resulted in differing roles between the two sisters of the Supreme Leaders.

Kim Kyong-hui, After Losing Her Child, Told Office 39 Chief: “I Have No Will to Live or Purpose Left”

[Host] After Jang Song-thaek’s execution, Kim Kyong-hui all but disappeared from public view. Do you know anything about how she lived after that?

[Ryu Hyun-woo] Jang Song-thaek and Kim Kyong-hui were already living separately long before his execution. They had frequent fights due to Jang’s affairs with other women, but their formal separation began around August 2006.

That year, their only daughter, Jang Kum-song, committed suicide in France by overdosing on medication. After that, Kim Kyong-hui began relying heavily on alcohol.

The suicide was rooted in love. Kum-song was being pressured by her parents to return to Pyongyang and marry since she was of age. Unable to marry the man she loved, she ultimately chose suicide over a life without him.

At the time, my father-in-law attended a party hosted by Kim Jong-il where Kim Kyong-hui was present. He said she looked pale and sickly, her face gaunt. He approached her and said, “You’ve suffered a great loss, but you must take care of your health.”

Drunk, she wept and told him, “Comrade Director, I have no will to live or purpose left.”

Kim Kyong-hui also suffered from a family history of heart disease and diabetes. Since 2006, she lived alone in her personal residence and often insulted Jang Song-thaek.

So from that time on, they were a married couple in name only.

However, when Kim Jong-un ordered the purge of the Jang family, Kim Kyong-hui requested that the children of Jang Song-thaek’s late brother, Jang Song-u, be spared. Jang Song-u, who had served as a corps commander in the military, had been loyal to Kim Jong-il and was treated as a faithful subject even after his death.

In short, unlike Jang Song-thaek, he had been loyal, and Kim Kyong-hui asked that his children not be punished just because they bore the surname Jang.

After Kim Jong-il’s death in December 2011, Kim Kyong-hui served briefly as a guardian figure to Kim Jong-un during the early days of his leadership.

However, after attending the September 9, 2013, military parade commemorating the regime’s 65th anniversary, she retired due to illness and received medical care at home.

Her reappearance at the Lunar New Year performance on January 26, 2020, confirmed that she was still alive. While I was still in Pyongyang, I heard she was barely surviving day to day through medication.

[Host] So in the end, Kim Yo-jong stepping forward and taking on her current role was a response to the early death of her father, Kim Jong-il, and an effort to support her brother during the early stages of his reign when his power base was weak.

Ambassador Ryu, your description of Kim Jong-un and Kim Yo-jong as a “community of shared fate” left a strong impression.

This concludes our special coverage of Kim Yo-jong’s hidden stories on Ryu Hyun-woo’s Black books. Thank you for joining us.

To read the original Korean article, click here: https://www.rfa.org/korean/weekly_program/b958d604c6b0c758-be14b7995317c2a4/north-korea-black-box-secret-story-switzerland-02262025091016.html

#KimKyonghui #Kimyojong #Kimregime