Kim's sister bags promotion

NORTH Korea's ruling party has elevated leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful younger sister to a top position, state media said this week, a sign of her far-reaching influence within the reclusive nation.

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Thousands of party elites have packed the capital Pyongyang for a once-in-five-years summit of the ruling Workers’ Party, a gathering that directs state efforts on everything from diplomacy to war planning.

Kim Yo Jong - long considered one of her brother's closest lieutenants - was promoted to department director within the party’s apex central committee, the Korean Central News Agency said.

Although it was not clear which department she would lead, she has previously held a senior role within the party’s propaganda unit.