This image dated March 9, 2014 and received on March 10 shows Kim Yo-Jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, casting her ballot for the election of a deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly at sub-constituency No. 43 of Constituency No. 105 at the Kim Il Sung University of Politics. Kim Yo-Jong, believed to be 26, accompanied her elder brother to a polling station on March 9 when North Korea held stage-managed elections to its rubber stamp parliament.
Kim Jong Un's sister given govt. job
02:10 - Source: CNN

Story highlights

The development comes just weeks after Kim Jong Un reappeared in public

His absence fueled rampant speculation

"There really aren't many bodies left to carry on the sort of Kim clan rule," one analyst says

CNN  — 

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been named as a senior government official by state media.

Kim Jong Un’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, was mentioned in an article posted by KCNA on Thursday, referring to her as a vice department director of the Central Committee of the governing Worker’s Party of Korea.

The report by the official news agency said Kim Yo Jong was one of the government officials who accompanied the North Korean leader during a tour of a cartoon film studio.

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The development comes just weeks after Kim Jong Un resurfaced after more than a month out of the public eye.

After his absence throughout most of September, Kim seemed to reappear October 14, when North Korean state media published the first photos of him, in which the beaming Kim held a cane in his left hand as he gave “field guidance” at a newly built residential district.

Kim hadn’t been seen in public since he reportedly attended a concert with his wife on September 3. It was his longest absence from official events since he made his first public appearance in 2010, according to NK News, a website devoted to analyzing North Korea.

Before his disappearance, Kim was seen limping, prompting theories he was suffering everything from weight gain to gout. His absence fueled rampant speculation.

Not much is known about his younger sister, Kim Yo Jong.

She went to school in Switzerland and began appearing in public at party functions this year, said Victor Cha, author of “Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future.”

“Clearly, an effort to slow-track her on to becoming somebody who is important within the system,” he said about Kim Yo Jong’s new job. “There really aren’t many bodies left to carry on the sort of Kim clan rule.”

CNN’s Dana Ford, KJ Kwon and Steven Almasy contributed to this report.