Kim Yo Jong has been described as a mouthpiece for her brother, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — and a potential successor.

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rebuffed overtures by South Korea’s new liberal government, saying Monday that its “blind trust” in the country's alliance with the U.S. and hostility toward North Korea make it no different from its conservative predecessor.

She was part of a group of 15 Russian tourists who were the first foreign visitors to a new seaside resort, which was opened to great fanfare by North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un in June. Her holiday snaps show a white sand beach, shimmering seas and high-rise hotels. But something's missing - people.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) shakes hands with Russia's Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova in Pyongyang, in this photo published by the Korean Central News Agency on June 30, 2025. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea.

North Korea on Monday rejected the new South Korean president's proposal for talks, saying that his policy toward the North was no different ​than that of his ousted predecessor, under ​whom relations had plunged to the lowest point in years.