SEOUL

North Korean media unveiled the official title of leader Kim Jong-un's younger sister Thursday, referring to her as a deputy director of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.

Pyongyang’s official media channel reported that 27-year-old Kim Yo-jong was part of Kim's entourage during a visit to a cartoon film studio in the capital.

According to the Korean Central News Agency, the party’s vice department directors Kim Yo-jong and Kim Ui-sun also accompanied the leader.

Kim Yo-jong has frequently been seen alongside her brother at public events, and some observers say she is being groomed for a key role -- similar to the one played by their aunt Kim Kyong-hui during their father’s rule.

South Korea’s national news agency cited an informed source as saying the country’s government believes Kim Yo-jong is serving in the party’s propaganda department.

According to Yonhap, a unification ministry official said the siblings’ father -- North Korea’s late leader Kim Jong-il -- had also worked in the department, while declining to answer whether Kim was regarded as a substitute for Kim Kyong-hui.

Chang Yong-seok, senior researcher at a Seoul National University institute, told the agency that Kim Yo-jong may be more influential than her aunt, whose husband -- Jang Song-thaek -- was executed in December 2013 on charges of treason and corruption.

"Kim Yo-jong is playing a substantive role in creating Kim Jong-un's image as a people-oriented leader, standing at the core of his efforts to solidify his power base," Chang said.

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