North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may have kicked his "princess" sister out of the country's ruling committee in a fall from favour, according to report.
There is speculation Kim Yo-jong, considered the most powerful woman in North Korea and one of her brother's closest advisers, has been demoted after she failed to appear at a party assembly last week.
She had previously attended last year's Winter Olympics in South Korea on behalf of her brother, and joined him for his summits with US President Donald Trump.
But now she has apparently been booted out of North Korea's politburo for reasons that haven't been revealed.
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Her brother has executed family members who have fallen out of favour, including his uncle Jang Song-thaek, who was accused of treason.
NK News reported that Kim Yo-jong did not appear in state media coverage of events attended by senior members of the Workers’ Party of Korea, suggesting she may have been demoted.
She was not listed as an alternate member of the politburo, the report added.
She was seen at some meetings and at a session of the Supreme People’s Assembly.
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One photo published by state media showed her with “members of the newly elected party and state leading organs", the report said.
In 2017, she was promoted as head of the ruling party's propaganda department, and became an alternate member of the politburo
She is widely referred to as North Korea’s “princess”, a nickname her father and former leader Kim Jong-il gave her when she was a child, Business Insider reported.
It is not clear if she will accompany her brother when he meets Russian President Vladimir Putin later this month.
Last Friday, Kim Jong-un gave a speech to the Supreme People's Assembly in which he said he was open to a third summit with Trump over denuclearisation, but North Korea would not give in unless sanctions are lifted and US-South Korea military drills end.
Kim also said he and Trump can exchange letters "asking about health" anytime they want and their relationship is "still excellent".
