The sister of one of the most murderous dictators in the world who leads the most closed society on the planet is, if you read the American media, a celebrity superstar on par with Ivanka Trump.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, arrived at the Olympics and was immediately dubbed a "star" by the South Koreans and the US media. Some outlets gloated over the fact that Ms. Kim was receiving more attention than US Vice President Mike Pence. But as the Weekly Standard points out, there is a a frenzy in the media to hail the dictator's sibling as a bringer of peace.

The peace of the grave.

Kim Yo-jong is no mere spectator to her brother’s misrule of North Korea. She’s an elite member of his regime, as director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea. There she oversees the propaganda regime that constitutes a key component of the enslavement her country’s people. She’s also a member of the Politburo. But don’t just take it for me—Kim is personally sanctionedby the U.S. Treasury Department for her role in sustaining North Korea’s oppressive regime.

Kim is being promoted in the media like a mafia princess - a celebrity from a family of cutthroats and thugs but who has a nice smile and takes a good picture.

CNN is especially gushy:

You wouldn’t know that from, for example, CNN’s treatment of Kim, however. Instead, the most trusted name in news reported this weekend she is “stealing the show” at the Olympics by virtue of her “smile,” and “warm message.” CNN further said that Kim was earning a “gold medal” for her “diplomatic dance.”

Here are a few terms that did not appear in CNN’s article: gulag; human rights; nuclear weapons; missiles. The article literally does not even mention that Kim is sanctioned by the U.S. government. Other U.S. outlets were similarly glib; Business Insider celebrated that Kim “threw a look” at the camera while standing behind Vice President Mike Pence. By the way, it later emerged that a highly paid PR firm had midwifed the Assad Vogue article. What’s CNN’s excuse?

While CNN and others have feted Kim’s visit, those with the most at stake—the South Koreans—have been decidedly more clear-eyed about the purpose of her visit. Take this editorial in the Chosun Ilbo, South Korea’s newspaper of record: “It would of course be wonderful if the Moon Jae-in administration's efforts lead to denuclearization talks, but Kim Jong-un is not sending his people to Pyeongchang to talk about disarmament. He is sending them to weaken sanctions and spread propaganda,” the paper argued.

The Joongang Ilbo, another leading daily, made the interesting point that Kim Yo-jong’s visit is a sign of North Korean weakness, not the confidence that others have projected on it: “South Korea is North Korea’s last resort. Pyongyang’s dispatching of Kim Yo-jong testifies to its deepening pains from sanctions,” the paper argued.

The South Koreans have more cause to be hopeful that Ms. Kim's visit would have tangible results. But unlike our own media, they have no illusions about the true purpose of her visit.

Whatever the case, one can’t help but be stunned at the blatant amorality of CNN and the likes’ coverage. Kim Yo-jong is thought to be about 30 years old; like her older brother, she appears to have been educated in Switzerland while a mass famine, caused by their father’s callous policies, killed hundreds of thousands (or perhaps even millions—the true extent is still not known) of her countrymen in the 1990s. 

The description of Ms. Kim as a mafia princess is not hyperbole. The Kim family is a crime family, guilty not only of murder, but extortion, torture, murder for hire (Kim's own half brother), and an oppression unlike any seen elsewhere. Like a crime family, they govern by fear and intimidation. Like a crime family, they skim cash off the top of state enterprises and have amassed a fortune of at least $5 billion.

In short, these are not very nice people and to pretend they're just like us - pretty, glamorous, media friendly - is not only ignorant but an insult to the victims of this criminal regime.

Otto Warmbier, the young American beaten, tortured, and finally murdered by North Korean prison guards could not be reached for comment. But his father made his feelings known in no uncertain terms

“Their athletes are not exchanging ideas with other athletes in the Olympic Village or really participating, so that's a political statement."

Fred Warmbier is attending the Olympics as a guest of Vice President Mike Pence and member of the U.S. delegation.

[...]

Fred Warmbier denied the U.S.'s decision to have him as a guest was a political action.

"This is not political for me," he said. "Their treatment of Otto is their standard, that's the way they do business."

Do you think CNN will do a story about the murder of Otto Warmbier or has the young man's ordeal been thrown down the news rabbit hole?