Kim Jong Un’s half sister, Kim Yo Jong, is set to meet with Park, shortly, as the 2018 Winter Olympics Games opens in South Korea without incident. She is said to share a mother with the elder Kim, and be in her 20s. This marks the first high profile Kim family member to visit the South since 2000. Analysts are suggesting she might be carrying an overture to Park, an invitation for a state visit to Pyongyang, although the best that could be hoped for practically is a thaw in relations. The Kim regime seems to be trying to bide time during the transition to their full breakout into ICBM armed nuclear state status, and Park has given them public cover in his resistance towards more militant options presented by members of the Trump administration for disarming the DPRK. Given the murder of Kim Jong Nam last year, and the aggressive push towards nuclearization, the young Kim seems to be trying to push for a more public and assertive role for the DPRK in international politics, challenging Trump with personal insults. The pushback has appeared to be little more than diplomatic, with allegations of massive sanctions violations by several neighboring countries, and a limited effect on the state itself pushing no change in policy direction. With the successful completion of the olympics, the world will watch, as the South decides then whether or not to hold the scheduled joint military exercises with the US, a sore point for the DPRK.

 

Staff Writer: Ari B

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-09/kim-s-sister-to-meet-moon-after-cheering-on-unified-korea-team