Sister of North Korea’s Kim Spotted with Kids at New Year’s Celebration—But Are They Really Hers?

Following the public appearances of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter, Kim Ju Ae, attention has now shifted to children believed to be those of Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong. These children were spotted at the New Year’s celebration, spreading interest.

Korean Central TV recorded the grand New Year’s celebration on Wednesday. The event was held at Pyongyang’s May Day Stadium on Tuesday evening.

The footage captured senior officials and their spouses walking to outdoor tables before entering the stadium. The fact that the officials were accompanied by their families suggests that the event was more intimate.

In the video, Kim Yo Jong enters the stadium hand-in-hand with a young girl and boy. The footage does not show them exiting the same vehicle, but the fact that officials were seen entering the event with their families led to speculation that these children might be her own.

Despite ongoing rumors about her marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth, there has been no official confirmation. A Unification Ministry official cautioned against concluding, stating that the video provides insufficient evidence to assume the children accompanying Kim are her own.

Speculation about Kim Yo Jong’s personal life first arose in 2015 when she was spotted wearing what appeared to be a wedding ring. Subsequent rumors suggested she had married an official from the party’s Room 39, which manages the regime’s finances, in the fall of 2014. The National Intelligence Service reported in April 2015 to the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee that Kim Yo Jong was presumed to have given birth in May of that year.