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No reason to expect Kim Yo-jong to become North Korean leader, says Russian envoy

He emphasized that according to available information, Kim Yo-jong serves as first deputy chief of the department for organization and instruction of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, which is a key element of the party machine

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. There is no reason to believe that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-jong is being trained to take the helm of the country, Russian Ambassador to Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora said in an open interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman on Monday.

"There is absolutely no reason to say that she is being trained for such a situation," the envoy pointed out. "She is a rather young person though she has serious political and foreign policy experience. She can be viewed as a well-established high-ranking statesperson. This where I would put a full stop," Matsegora added.

He emphasized that according to available information, Kim Yo-jong serves as first deputy chief of the department for organization and instruction of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, which is a key element of the party machine. "It’s possible that the leader of the party and the country is the actual head of the department," Matsegora noted, adding that it used to be that way in the past. "If so, then the department’s first deputy chief holds a rather high position," he said.

At the same time, in his words, it's been a long time since anyone was considered to be number two in North Korea's hierarchy. "No one dares to call themselves number two in the country," Matsegora noted. "I think that if you asked comrade Kim Yo-jong whether she was number two, she would answer with a strong ‘no’," the Russian ambassador said.

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