Three women form a core part of the repressive North Korean regime, loyally lining up behind their tubby brother and husband to fend off challenges to his authority.
They are leader Kim Jong-un's wife Ri Sol-ju, his older half-sister Kim Sul-song, and his younger sister Kim Yeo-jong.
Kim Sul-song is the oldest of the three. She is believed to have been born in 1974, the eldest daughter of former leader Kim Jong-il and his second wife Kim Yong-suk. She studied political economics at Kim Il-sung University. Since the late 1990s, she has worked in the Workers Party.
She is believed to have acted as a secretary to her father, managing his security detail and engagement schedule, and now does the same job for Kim Jong-un.
Ken Gause of the U.S. Center for Naval Analyses speculates that Kim Sul-song is at the apex of a structure that collects and controls the information flow in the regime.
From left, Kim Yeo-jong, Kim Sul-song and Ri Sol-ju Kim Sul-song and her husband, Sin Pok-nam, a senior party official, played a central role in purging former eminence grise Jang Song-taek and are now spearheading the reform of the party, New Politics Alliance for Democracy lawmaker Hong Ihk-pyo said last year quoting a North Korean source in China.
Ri, who was born in 1989 or thereabouts, is believed to have been influential in helping Choe Ryong-hae, who had been almost elbowed aside by Hwang Pyong-so, return to the center of power recently.
Ri came to Choe's rescue because she is close to his wife Kang Kyong-sil, according to rumors.
There also is speculation that Air Force general Ri Pyong-chol was appointed to the top decision-making National Defense Commission in September because Ri Sol-ju's father was an Air Force pilot.
This suggests that she is a vital ally for anyone seeking promotion.
Kim Yeo-jong has taken a key post in the Workers Party, though what exactly her duties are is unclear.
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