[7] Between 1996 and December 2000, Kim studied with her elder brothers at the Liebefeld-Steinhölzli public school in Bern, Switzerland, under the assumed name "Pak Mi-hyang".

She did not appear in news reports of the time except in November 2012, when the Korean Central Television showed her accompanying Kim Jong Un and her aunt at a military riding ground.

[15] Kim received her first official mention in state media in March 2014, when she accompanied her brother in voting for the Supreme People's Assembly.

She was said to have encouraged her brother to present an image of a "man of the people" with, for example, rides on fairground attractions and his friendship with basketball star Dennis Rodman.

[23][24] In January 2017, she was placed on the United States Department of the Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals List in response to alleged human rights abuses in North Korea.

[25] In October 2017, Kim Yo Jong was made an alternate member of the Politburo,[26] only the second woman to be appointed to this decision-making body.

[31] She met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on 10 February and revealed that she was dispatched as a special envoy of Kim Jong Un.

Her involvement in diplomatic affairs continued as she issued an official statement in March 2020 from her capacity as first deputy department director of the party.

[42][43] On 8 July 2020, Lee Kyung-jae, an attorney with the South Korean law firm Dongbuka, sued Kim for her involvement in the demolition of the Inter-Korean Liaison Office.

[44][45] In March 2021, Kim condemned virtual joint military drills held in South Korea, calling them a "serious challenge.

"[46] She also warned the administration of President Joe Biden, saying, "If it wants to sleep in peace for the coming four years, it had better refrain from causing a stink at its first step.

"[47] Kim threatened to decommission the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country and to shutter the Kumgangsan International Travel "and other organizations concerned as any cooperation and exchange with the South Korean authorities antagonizing us are no longer necessary."

[57] Choe Song is thought to be a fellow alumnus of Kim Il Sung University and either an official at Room 39 of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) or an employee at a military unit responsible for guarding the country's leader.