According to the Korean Central News Agency, on the evening of February 25, 2026, a military parade to commemorate the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea was held at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, attended and delivered a speech. Previously, the Ninth National Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea was held from February 19 to 25. North Korea's development strategy and cadre handover will enter the "Ninth Era" from the "Eight Era" starting in 2021.
Photos released by the Korean Central News Agency showed that Kim Jong-un's wife Ri Sol-ju and her daughter, Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong, as well as Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, Deputy Minister of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party Hyon Song-wol and other women were present at the military parade. Among them, Kim Yo-jung stood in the same row as Kim Jong-un on the viewing platform. Earlier in the day, as a newly elected alternate member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, she also attended the first meeting of the ninth Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party. Wearing a black and white headband, she sat first among the alternate members.
In the past 12 years, Kim Yo Jong has been active in the political arena as deputy minister and first deputy minister of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of China. However, the outside world believes that her actual political status is far from being summed up as "deputy minister". Kim Yo-jong has accompanied Kim Jong-un on almost every trip abroad, and has repeatedly appeared next to Kim Jong-un in videos, but is rarely mentioned by name in written reports.
Now, at the First Plenary Session of the Ninth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of China, Kim Yo-jong became an alternate member of the Politburo for the second time since 2017, and entered the list of ministers of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party for the first time. This is the first time she has taken on the task of leading a central department of the party.
As North Korean officials follow common practice and do not release the specific departments of each minister, there have been various speculations about Kim Yo Jong's specific position. But all analysts pointed out that this means that her political status in North Korea "further rises."
From February 19th to 25th, the 9th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea was held in Pyongyang. Kim Yo-jong (second row, first from right) sat on the rostrum. Photo/Korean Central News Agency
What's the new identity?
Kim Yo Jong was born in the late 1980s and studied abroad with Kim Jong Un in his early years. In 2002, when Kim Yo-jong's father, Kim Jong-il, was receiving Western guests, he praised his youngest daughter for being "very interested in politics and hoping to make a difference in North Korean politics." Konstantin Plikovsky, the Russian special envoy for Far East affairs who has traveled to North Korea many times, recalled that Kim Jong Il believed that Kim Yo Jong had a "quick mind and excellent leadership skills."
In 2014, Kim Yo-jong appeared publicly for the first time as deputy minister of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party. South Korean and US intelligence agencies subsequently confirmed that he served as deputy minister of the Propaganda and Agitation Department. After that, Kim Yo-jong was promoted to an alternate member of the Politburo and first deputy minister of the Workers' Party Central Committee in 2017. In 2021, he stepped down as an alternate member of the Politburo after the Eighth National Congress of the Workers' Party. He still conducts public activities and speaks in the names of first deputy minister and deputy minister of the Workers' Party of China Central Committee. At this time, many outsiders believe that Kim Yo Jong is actually Kim Jong Un's "office director" and "external spokesperson", but in name he still acts as deputy director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, and may have also served as deputy director of the Organization and Guidance Department.
This time at the First Plenary Session of the Ninth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of China, Ri Il-hwan, who has been a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of China since the Eighth National Congress and secretary in charge of propaganda and agitation of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of China, entered the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of China, the highest leadership level. He also appeared on the list of "Ministers of the Party Central Committee" and ranked second only to Kim Jae-ryong, who is in charge of organizational guidance. This means that Ri Il-hwan is likely to concurrently serve as the director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party.
It is worth noting that after this round of personnel adjustments, newly elected central secretaries such as Kim Jae-yong, Ri Il-hwan, Jung Kyung-seok, Kim Sung-nam, Shin Yong-il, Lee Hee-yong, Zhu Chang-il, Zhao Chun-ryong, Ahn Jin-chul, Kim Jong-gwan, and Kim Seung-doo have all served as ministers of their respective departments. This shows the idea of reforming the Central Committee of the Workers' Party. Kim Yo Jong ranks first among “party central ministers who do not serve as secretary.”
Michael Madden, an internationally renowned expert on North Korean personnel issues and a researcher at the Stimson Center in the United States, pointed out to China News Weekly that if Kim Yo Jong is appointed as the director of the Department of Propaganda and Agitation, it will not be consistent with the practice of "all previous directors of the Department of Propaganda and Agitation are at least members of the Politburo rather than alternate members", nor is it consistent with the new rule that "the secretary of the top-ranked department is also the director."
As one of the "two major departments" of the Workers' Party, together with the Organization and Guidance Department, some first deputy ministers and deputy ministers of the Propaganda and Agitation Department will take on diverse tasks during their tenure, and then leave propaganda work in the traditional sense. "North Korea's party, government, and military institutions all have organizational guidance, propaganda and agitation departments. Due to this 'control tower' feature, cadres from the organization or propaganda departments are often assigned to other fronts," Madden said.
When Kim Yo Jong served as the first deputy minister of the department, Hyon Song-wol, the leader of the Samjiyon Band, was promoted to the deputy minister of the department. But in recent years, public reports have shown that Hyon Song-wol has gradually become a role similar to Kim Jong-un's "secretary". When Kim Jong-un attends public events, he is always close by his side and handles administrative work.
On the evening of February 25, a military parade to commemorate the 9th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea was held at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. Kim Jong-un attended with his wife Ri Sol-ju and his daughter. Photo/Korean Central News Agency
status improvement
After the First Plenary Session of the Ninth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, the total number of ministers of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea increased by 2 compared to the communiqué of the First Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee, reaching 17. In addition, according to the Ministry of Unification of the South Korean government, during the Eighth Congress, as South Korea was redefined as an "enemy country," North Korea's agencies facing the South were significantly dismantled, and the United Front Department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party was also reorganized into the "10th Bureau" or "10th Office" of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party. Before the Ninth National Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, there were only 14 departments in the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea in public information. Today, the 17-member list of party central ministers means that the reform of the central organizational structure of the Workers’ Party should actually adjust and add three ministerial-level units.
Yonhap News Agency pointed out that Ri Sun-kwon, director of the 10th Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of China for a long time, has resigned during the personnel adjustment of the Ninth National Congress, which means that Kim Yo-jong may become the head of a new department responsible for North Korea, South Korea and foreign affairs. Officials from South Korea's Unification Ministry also publicly stated that they are paying close attention to "whether Kim Yo-jong will play a role in inter-Korean relations or foreign affairs."
Kim Yo Jong did play a key role in inter-Korean contacts. During the peace process on the Korean Peninsula in 2018, she personally went to South Korea during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics to bring back a message from then South Korean President Moon Jae-in for Kim Jong-un. Afterwards, she followed Kim Jong-un across the Military Demarcation Line at Panmunjeom and accepted the flowers presented by Korean children for Kim Jong-un.
After the peninsula peace process reached a deadlock, Kim Yo Jong's main role became to speak out publicly against South Korea. She last spoke on February 18, 2026. Kim Yo-jong "highly praised" South Korea's Lee Jae-myung government's apology and determination to "never do it again" for the previous incident of South Korean drones invading North Korea's airspace, but also emphasized that North Korea will strengthen its vigilance and warned South Korea "not to do stupid things that will ultimately endanger itself."
Based on these histories, it can be seen that Kim Yo Jong has always been outside North Korea's working system with South Korea, playing a special role as Kim Jong Un's "special envoy" and "spokesperson". It is worth noting that the Ninth National Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea did not adjust the “South Korea is an enemy country” policy. In the Ninth National Congress report, Kim Jong-un once again emphasized that "South Korea will be permanently deleted from the category of homogeneous people." In this context, there is a lack of evidence as to whether North Korea will reorganize a ministerial-level unit responsible for South Korea affairs.
Madden revealed to China News Weekly that U.S. analysts believe that because Kim Yo Jong has always been the de facto head of Kim Jong Un’s personal office, and Kim Jong Un’s “secretary” Hyon Song Yue also reports to Kim Yo Jong, North Korea may refer to this in this round of institutional reforms. International experience creates an "administrative agency similar to the General Office of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party", which means that the general affairs, archives and other departments of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party and Kim Jong-un's personal office may undergo some kind of reorganization, and Kim Yo-jong is obviously the most suitable candidate to serve as the head of this department.
In the report to the Ninth National Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Kim Jong-un emphasized that the Workers’ Party of Korea should strengthen the functions and roles of party committees at all levels to realize the party’s political leadership in all fields of revolution and construction.
Most outside analysts believe that Kim Yo Jong's political status is "increasingly improving" or even "significantly improved."
