Kim's summit entourage includes four women

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un brought a group of trusted lieutenants to Singapore, with at least four high-powered women including his own sister.

Kim Yo Jong

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, is among his entourage in Singapore. (AAP)

A BRIEF LOOK AT KIM'S ENTOURAGE:

KIM YONG CHOL

Kim, 72, has been Kim Jong-un's most trusted policy adviser since the North Korean leader began a peace offensive with the U.S. and South Korea in January.

He accompanied the young leader at all four of his recent summits, twice with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and twice with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Recently, Kim Jong-un sent him to the United States to hand-deliver a letter to Trump, making him North Korea's most senior official to visit its wartime foe in 18 years.

Kim Yong Chol's rise has baffled many North Korea watchers because he is the ruling Workers' Party official in charge of South Korea ties, not international or US relations. Previously, he served as intelligence chief and is believed to have been behind two attacks in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans.

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KIM YO JONG

She is Kim Jong-un's younger sister and is thought to be in her late 20s or early 30s. Her official post is the Workers' Party official responsible for propaganda affairs. Many outside experts believe she has already become the No. 2 official in a country that has been ruled by the Kim family for seven decades.

She reportedly travelled to Singapore separately from her brother amid media speculation that the North's top two officials intentionally take different planes in case of an accident.

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CHOE SON HUI

Choe, a vice foreign minister, is the highest-level female diplomat in North Korea. She previously worked as an English-language interpreter for a North Korean delegation attending now-stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.

Last month, her threat to scuttle the summit and description of US Vice President Mike Pence as a "political dummy" prompted Trump to pull out of his meeting with Kim, although he quickly reversed his decision. Some observers speculated Kim would sack Choe but she retained her position. On Monday, she met senior US diplomat Sung Kim at the Ritz-Carlton hotel to make final preparations for the summit.

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HYON SONG WOL

Hyon is head of North Korea's hugely popular Moranbong girl band, whose members were hand-picked by Kim Jong-un. She also led a large North Korean art troupe sent to South Korea during the February Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Her earlier trip to South Korea in January triggered a media frenzy.

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KIM SUNG HAE

Kim is a departmental director at North Korea's United Front Department, the Workers' Party organisation that handles inter-Korean relations. She also attended Monday's meeting at the Ritz-Carlton hotel.

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NO KWANG CHOL

No is North Korea's minister of the People's Armed Forces. His appointment to one of the top military jobs was officially confirmed by a state media dispatch on Monday that included him in a list of officials travelling with Kim.

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RI SU YONG

Ri, 78, is the top Workers' Party official for international affairs. The former foreign minister was North Korea's ambassador to Switzerland when Kim Jong-un studied there as a teenager.

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RI YONG HO

Foreign Minister Ri, 61, is a career diplomat who served as the chief North Korean delegate to the six-party nuclear talks.


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Published 12 June 2018 12:26pm
Source: AAP


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