2020 has been another mysterious year for the Paektu bloodline: First, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un went missing from the public eye for several long periods as rumors mounted over his ill-health. Then his younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, was anointed with extraordinary new powers by the international press before she disappeared for more than two months herself.

But Kim Yo Jong was back in view on Friday, looking none the worse for wear as she beamed at her brother during an inspection on flood damage reconstruction. Strangely, she was also seen lugging a giant backpack.

Her previous, most