North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has promoted his sister to a senior ruling party post, state media said Sunday, and praised the country’s nuclear weapons program which has sparked international alarm.
Kim Yo-Jong becomes an alternate member of the party’s powerful politburo, the decision-making body presided over by her brother, the official KCNA news agency said.
The promotion was announced along with those for dozens of other top officials at a party meeting led by the leader on Saturday.
The sister, in her late 20s, has frequently been seen accompanying her brother on his field guidance trips.
Both were born to the late former ruler Kim Jong-Il and his third partner, former dancer Ko Yong-Hui.
The family has ruled North Korea since its creation in 1948. The current ruler came to power after the death of his father in December 2011.
During Saturday’s party meeting, Kim acknowledged the country faced with “ordeals” under a “stern” situation, but claimed that its economy had grown this year despite ever-tighter sanctions.
He described the North’s atomic weapons as a “treasured sword” to protect it from aggression.
“The nuclear weapons of the DPRK (North Korea) are a precious fruition borne by its people’s bloody struggle for defending the destiny and sovereignty of the country from the protracted nuclear threats of the US imperialists,” Kim was quoted as saying.
Source: AFP
