Recent footage from a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to a construction site in Pyongyang sheds light on the prominence of Hyon Song-wol, the vice director of the propaganda and agitation department.
According to reports from Pyongyang’s state-run Korean Central Television on April 5, Kim supervised the construction site of residential buildings in the Hwasong District of Pyongyang, nearing completion. During his visit, Kim walked the streets, pointing here and there with his hand, and directed detailed instructions, even using a miniature model of the Hwasong District as a pointer. Surrounding him were officials, each holding notebooks, diligently recording his instructions.
Amid the scene of officials attentively following Kim’s directives, one figure stood apart, engrossed in her mobile phone. This figure was Hyon Song-wol, responsible for Kim’s protocol.
Despite trailing behind Kim, Hyon was seen taking out her mobile phone, paying no attention to the directions indicated by Kim, unlike the other male officials who were focused on him.
Experts speculate that information to be reported to Kim might be transmitted through his close aide, Hyon. Ko Yong-hwan, a special adviser to Seoul’s unification minister, suggested in an interview with SBS, “Kim’s secretariat might convey reports or urgent messages to him through Hyon,” further noting, “During Kim’s attendance at events, Hyon, responsible for his protocol, could exert significant influence.”
Hyon, a former popular singer, gained international recognition when she led a North Korean art troupe to South Korea during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Since then, she has risen through the ranks under Kim’s regime and now oversees his event-related affairs as the vice director of the propaganda and agitation department, a position akin to Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong.
It is known that Kim shares a deep connection with Hyon, to the extent that they communicated via international calls during Kim’s time studying in Switzerland. There have been claims suggesting that Hyon bore a child out of wedlock with Kim. Former North Korean spy agent Choi Soo-yong asserted in an interview with The Monthly Chosun, “Kim has two illegitimate children with Hyon and a woman from The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan.”
Allegedly, the son born to Hyon is named ‘Kim Il-bong’. Choi described, “The illegitimate son, Kim Il-bong, is sturdy, but the first son born to Ri Sol-ju, Kim’s wife, is skinny to the extent of being described in North Korean terms as ‘pitiful’.”
