Views expressed in Opinion articles are exclusively the authors’ own and do not represent those of NK News.

Two trends have dominated news about North Korea in recent months.

First, Kim Jong Un’s health. The Supreme Leader disappeared for three weeks in April, TMZ inaccurately reported that he died, and the internet went into meltdown. He reappeared at a fertilizer plant on May 1, 2020.

Second, his sister Kim Yo Jong’s increasing prominence. The 32-year old was removed as an alternate member of the Korean Workers’ Party Political Bureau in April 2019 but was reappointed in April 2020.

Then in