Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, just reemerged for the first time in weeks after she disappeared from the public eye following reports that she might be the new leader of North Korea.

Daily North Korea reported that Kim Yo Jong just ordered a new set of guidelines that aim to raise party membership requirements, which will be handed down to party committees and party cell organizations nationwide.

“About a month ago, the North Pyongyang Province Party Committee chairman submitted a petition to the Central Committee saying he thought the situation surrounding the recruitment and expulsion of Party members in the province is serious,” a source in North Korea said on Tuesday.

“Following this, Comrade Kim Yo Jong ordered the Organization and Guidance Department [OGD] to ensure that the Party is made up of [only] the loyalest of members, and then the OGD recently issued a set of guidelines to Party committees and Party cell organizations nationwide on raising the standards for joining the Party,” the source added.

The insider went on to explain why these new requirements are stressful for the people of North Korea.

“Everyone is holding their breath and has little choice but to follow orders because there is tremendous pressure exerted by the directive to review [people’s] loyalty to the Party amid efforts to rearrange the Party ranks before Oct. 10,” the source said. “It’s really questionable to ask everyone to remember everything they’ve done based on loyalty to the Party over the past eight years because people simply don’t remember.”

This comes after Kim Yo Jong vanished from the public eye for weeks following reports from South Korean spies claiming that she now serves as Kim Jong Un’s “de facto second-in-command,” although she has not been officially designated as his successor.

“In the past, anyone was deprived of their position the moment they were described as the No. 2 person in the North,” said Korea University Professor Nam Sung-wook. “There must be a semblance of checks and balances, although Kim Yo Jong is a family member.”

Experts had previously warned that Kim Yo Jong might be an even more ruthless dictator than her brother has been, if she takes over.

“I haven’t seen any evidence, any indication of how she might rule, but my speculation — given the reputation and history of the family — is that she would rule with an iron fist,” retired US Army Col. David Maxwell said of Kim Yo Jong.

This piece originally appeared in UpliftingToday.com and is used by permission.

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