North Korean officials at the Olympics have been on their best behavior to make their regime appear sympathetic and the United States look like the bad guys. Since the Olympic games started, multiple major media outlets have been having a lovefest with Kim Yo Jong and other North Koreans ignoring the regime’s terrorism of its own people.
University of St. Thomas School of International Studies professor Dr. Hans Stockton said the sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un plays a major role in keeping her brother in power.
“Do not let the public appearance fool you into thinking that she is anything other than a major part of one of the most repressive regimes in the world,” said Stockton.
South Korea had to respond in a positive way. And, in terms of public propaganda, this puts the US in a difficult situation.
Stockton said Kim Yo Jong's appearance was a major public propaganda campaign that she most likely orchestrated.
“What’s not widely broadcast is that Kim Yo Jun in January of 2017 was placed on the US Treasury Department’s specialty designated nationals list for her role in humanitarian abuses in North Korea,” said Stockton.
He said don't be confused with the context of the images we see at the Olympics.