Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has been promoted within the ruling Workers' Party of Korea during its five-yearly congress in Pyongyang. Previously a deputy department director, she was elevated to a full department director by the party's Central Committee, as reported by the state news agency KCNA. Kim Yo Jong, considered one of her brother's closest confidantes and a prominent female figure in Pyongyang, was educated in Switzerland and has risen rapidly since Kim Jong Un assumed power in 2011. Her name is frequently used by Pyongyang to issue statements outlining government positions and criticizing South Korea and the United States. The congress, attended by thousands of cadres, also saw Kim Jong Un re-elected as General Secretary and discussions about the next phase of North Korea's nuclear program.