Join us for the New York City book launch of The Sister: North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, The Most Dangerous Woman in the World. Hear from author Dr. Sung-Yoon Lee, Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in conversation with policy director Jonathan Corrado. This newly released book chronicles the rise and importance of Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Dr. Lee describes Kim Yo Jong as “ruthless and incredibly dangerous… a princess by birth with great expectations for her macabre kingdom, she was brought up to believe it is her mission to reunite North Korea with the South or die trying.”
“Lee paints an extraordinarily well-researched picture of the second-most consequential figure in the Kim Jong Un regime. He provides an invaluable resource in understanding one of the most intriguing and least-known figures in today’s North Korea.”—Stephen E. Biegun, United States special representative for North Korea (2018–2021) and deputy secretary of state (2021–2022)
“In The Sister, Lee offers a trenchant analysis of the Kim Jong Un regime and his sister’s role in propagating their cult of personality. He employs his deep knowledge of the subject and his fine literary skills to tell a tale that is both fascinating and disturbing. The Sister is a gripping story of great policy relevance.”—Dr. Sue Mi Terry, director of the Asia program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; former senior North Korea analyst, CIA; former National Security Council director for Korea, Japan, and Oceanic Affairs
“As a former top North Korea official in charge of the supreme leader’s slush funds, I have intimate knowledge of the corrupt and very opaque workings of the Kim dynasty. The Sister is revelatory. It is a most rare and enlightening analysis of the Kim regime’s deceptions and perversions and Kim Yo Jong’s role in this existential game. Current and future policymakers will find this book a treasure trove, an essential guidebook on policy-relevant history, mistaken assumptions of the past, and lessons for the future. The Sister is a most astute, acerbic, and, at times, even amusing exposé of the pathological ways of the North Korean dynasty.”—Ri Jong Ho, former chairman, Korea Kum-Kang Economic Development Group (KKG) of the National Defense Commission, DPRK; former president of the Korea Dae-Hung General Trading Corporation of the Korean Workers' Party; and recipient of the Hero of Labour Award, the highest civilian honor in North Korea
The Sister
September 15, 2023 | 12 PM (EDT)
The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017
About the Author:
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Sung-Yoon Lee is a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Previously, he taught Korean history at Tufts University. He has written on the politics of the Korean peninsula for numerous publications including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. He has testified as an expert witness at the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearings on North Korea policy and has advised senior leaders, including the President of the United States. |
