North Korean leader’s sister reappears after 47 days

By NewsGram Staff Writer

Kim Yo-jong, younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, reappeared in state media on Friday after a 47-day absence during which, according to South Korean experts, she may have given birth to a baby, Efe news agency reported.

In photographs disclosed by North Korea's news agency KCNA, the 28-year-old woman was seen accompanying her brother on one of his many inspections.

Kim Yo-jong's last public appearance was on April 12, when state media took pictures of her along with the "supreme leader" during an inspection of the construction site at Sunan airport's second terminal in Pyongyang.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) had then said that Kim Yo-jong was pregnant and would give birth in May.

The NIS also said that Kim Jong-un's sister could be married to a student from her alma mater, Kim Il-sung University, North Korea's most prestigious university and where nine generations of the elite Communist regime have studied.

However, Chinese sources have suggested that Kim Yo-jong could be married to the son of Choe Ryong-hae, secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Kim Yo-jong, along with Kim Jong-un and Kim Jong-chol, were all born to Ko Young-hee and late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who died in December 2011.

North Korea's insular regime goes to extreme lengths to conceal any information related to the Kim family.

For this reason, the only available data comes from photographs published by the country's media and from external sources such as the NIS.

(With inputs from IANS)