With North Korea's Kim Jong Un out of sight, spotlight on little sister

PYONGYANG, North Korea, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Amid speculation on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's prolonged absence from public sight, attention is turning to younger sister Kim Yo Jong.

Estimated to be 27 years old, she is the youngest sibling of the Supreme Leader and appears to have risen in the ranks following the death of her father, Kim Jong Il, in 2011. At his funeral, she interacted with "pretty high level officials," noted Michael Madden, who runs the blog North Korea Leadership Watch and contributes to Johns Hopkins University's Korean Studies site.

She has been identified in North Korean media as holding the powerful position of deputy director of the Workers' Party.

Recently, there has been speculation that Kim Yo Jung may be temporarily in charge of the secretive country while her brother recuperates from an alleged leg injury. Victor Cha, a North Korea expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies who previously worked on the National Security Council, acknowledges the possibility.

"I can see how it's possible that she's in some sort of temporary position. It's very difficult for the North Korean system to run without one of the Kim family at least titularly in charge. So, if Kim Jong Un is indisposed, she's really the only available body that's left, in terms of a direct Kim family line."

Whatever Kim Yo Jong's current role, it seems she is gaining increasing public exposure as one of her brother's inner circle.