Social media critics hit out at glorification of Kim Jong-un’s sister

SHE’S at the Winter Olympics representing Kim Jong-un’s dictatorship - but you wouldn’t know it from the world’s reaction.

Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has been dubbed the Ivanka trump of North Korea. Picture: AP Photo/Felipe Dana.

SHE’S been dubbed the Ivanka Trump of North Korea. The woman “stealing the show” at the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang.

But social media has hit out at news outlet CNN for their glowing article on Kim Jong-un’s younger sister, Kim Yo-jong.

According to the CNN piece, Ms Kim has “struck a chord with the public” and is a “a foil to the perception of North Korea as antiquated and militaristic”.

“If ‘diplomatic dance’ were an event at the Winter Olympics, Kim Jong-un’s younger sister would be favoured to win gold,” the article reads.

“With a smile, a handshake and a warm message in South Korea’s presidential guest book, Kim Yo-jong has struck a chord with the public just one day into the PyeongChang Games.”

Swiss President Alain Berset shakes hands with Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, during the Women's Ice Hockey Preliminary Round. Picture: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images.

Ms Kim is a powerful member her brother’s regime, and — according to former Korean analyst at the CIA, Sue Mi Terry — poses as a “compelling saleswoman”.

While her profile has been rising since 2014, experts suggest her visit to the Winter Olympics is Kim Jong-un’s answer to the expected attendance of Ivanka Trump at the closing ceremony.

“She’s probably one of the most influential people on Kim Jong-un himself, precisely because he has very few people he can trust,” Balbina Hwang told CNN, who is a professor at Georgetown University and founder of the National Committee on North Korea.

Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, and North Korea's nominal head of state Kim Yong Nam. Picture: AP Photo/Felipe Dana.

“Kim Yo-jong is the perfect counterpart to this [Ivanka Trump’s visit].

“And it also is a signal that North Korea is not this crazy, weird former Cold War state — but it too has young women that are capable and are the future leadership.”

But critics were quick to criticise the glowing review of Ms Kim, questioning whether the news outlet had “lost their mind” by suggesting she was “stealing the show”.

“She’s literally the deputy director of the “Propaganda and Agitation Department” for one of the world’s most repressive regimes,” Jesse Lehrich posted on Twitter.

#KimYoJong is no Ivanka Trump. She doesn't come close & for WaPo to make such a comparison shows how out of touch they are with our democracy. Another win for President Trump who has the liberal MSM going crazy. He said he wld expose & drain the swamp. #NorthKorea #KimJongUn pic.twitter.com/LQxNKClFHa

— robjh1 (@robjh1) February 11, 2018

“Someone tell @CNN that their site has been hacked by the North Korean propaganda ministry,” Chairman of the Human Rights Foundation Garry Kasparov said.

“Have you lost your damn mind? Idolising & making Kim Yo Jong seem like an incredible, amazing person. Shame on you for spot lighting this demon,” another added.

US Vice President Mike Pence (R) and North Korea's Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-jong at the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Picture: AFP.

Ms Kim arrived on Friday in South Korea aboard her brother’s plane before having lunch with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Saturday. She is the first member of North Korea’s ruling family to visit the South since the Korean War in the early 1950s.

Her arrival was broadcast live on South Korean television, before she travelled to Pyeonchang to attend the games’ opening ceremony where North and South Korean athletes marched together behind a blue-and-white unification flag.

On Saturday, surrounded by bodyguards, Ms Kim attended the hockey match between Switzerland and the unified Korean team. Arriving in an all-black coat, she was reportedly met with cheers, gasps and the clicking of iPhones as patrons desperately tried to snap a photo.

Kim Yo-jong at the hockey game between Switzerland and the unified Korean team. Picture: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images.

“Her being here is not that bad, but I feel North Korea has shown up to the Olympics without paying,” 23-year-old Yoon Jun-young told CNN.

Despite going down to the Swiss 8-0, Ms Kim went to the ice field post-match with the other officials to applaud the Korean players and take part in a group photo.

“It felt special,” Korean defenseman Yoonjung Park told the Washington Post.

“It was a special moment. Hopefully playing as a unified team is a small step into something bigger.”