Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, speaks at the National Emergency Prevention General Meeting in Pyongyang in 2022. -- Photo: KCNA via KNS/ AFP
SEOUL/PYONGYANG: A former North Korean diplomat has revealed that Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of Pyongyang’s ruler Kim Jong-un, is married to a “tall and handsome” man and that two children who had appeared with her in a recent photograph released by state media are likely hers.
The revelation to South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo provided a rare first-hand account from a senior official of the secretive regime regarding the life of its highly private family.
Ryu Hyun-woo, North Korea’s acting ambassador to Kuwait when he defected to South Korea in 2019, told local media he had met Kim Yo-jong’s family in 2014 during a visit to the tomb of Ko Yong-hui, mother of the Kim siblings.
Speculation about Kim Yo-jong’s marital status began on New Year’s Day in 2015 when a newspaper photo showed her visiting an orphanage, wearing a ring.
The two children seen with Kim Yo-jong in a recent photograph released by state media are likely her own, Ryu suggested.
Choe Ryong-hae, vice-chairman of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, is the father of Choe Song. -- EPA-EFE/Pool - South China Morning Post
Multiple media outlets also reported that she had in 2014 married Choe Song, the son of Choe Ryong-hae, one of North Korea’s most powerful officials.
According to Ryu, the pair had met through a six-month special course at Kim Il Sung University, a prestigious institution in Pyongyang.
The pairing of two prominent North Korean families underscores the regime’s emphasis on consolidating power through elite connections.
Ryu recalled that Kim’s husband was “dressed in a military uniform” and “about 180 centimeters [5 feet, 11 inches] tall and handsome.” He confirmed that the man was the same individual he had seen in Kim's wedding photos, which his father-in-law had shown him earlier.
According to Ryu, at the time of their meeting, Kim’s husband was serving as a deputy director in the Corps Guidance Department of the General Political Bureau of the North Korean military.
Kim appeared at a New Year's Eve event on Dec. 31, 2024, holding hands with a young boy and alongside a girl, in footage North Korea’s state-run Korean Central Television (KCTV) aired the next day. The event was attended by many top North Korean officials and their families.
“I cannot confirm the boy, but the girl appears to be around the same age as the daughter I know Kim has,” Ryu said regarding the KCTV footage.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) backed the possibility on Jan. 3, saying that given the estimated ages of Kim’s known offspring, it was conducting a “detailed analysis” to verify whether the children in the video were indeed hers.
Reports from the NIS suggest she may have given birth at least twice. In April 2015, the NIS informed the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee that Kim's “stomach is growing” and that she was expected to “give birth in May of that year.”
The NIS speculated that her husband might be a “fellow graduate of Kim Il Sung University.”
Further speculation arose in February 2018, when Kim visited South Korea as part of Pyongyang's high-ranking delegation for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. She appeared to be in the late stages of pregnancy and was reported to have given birth later that year.
North Korea has never officially confirmed her marital status, pregnancies or childbirth. -- Agencies
