Kim Jong Un

Kim Jong-un (officially transcribed Kim Jong Un; Korean: 김정은 (Hanja: 金正恩); Korean pronunciation:; born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician serving as Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011, and has served as Leader of the Workers' Party of Korea since 2012. He is the second child of Kim Jong-il (1941–2011), who was North Korea's second leader from 1994 to 2011, and Ko Yong-hui (1952–2004). He is the grandson of Kim Il-sung, who was the founder and led North Korea from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994.

From late 2010, Kim Jong-un was viewed as heir apparent to the leadership of North Korea, and following the elder Kim's death, North Korean state television announced him as the "Great Successor". Kim holds the titles of Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (as First Secretary between 2012 and 2016), Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, commander-in-chief (as SAC chairman), and member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea, the highest decision-making body in North Korea. Kim was promoted to the rank of Marshal of North Korea in the Korean People's Army on 18 July 2012, consolidating his position as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. North Korean state media often refers to him as Marshal Kim Jong-un, "the Marshal" or "Dear Respected."

Kim rules a dictatorship where elections are not free and fair, government critics are persecuted, media is controlled by the regime, internet access is limited by the regime, and there is no freedom of religion. His regime operates an extensive network of prisons and labor camps that has imprisoned and killed millions of people; the regime convicts people for political crimes and uses collective punishment whereby members of a family get punished for the crimes of one person. According to the United Nations, North Koreans live under "systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations" where the regime "seeks to dominate every aspect of its citizens’ lives and terrorizes them from within." The regime exerts extensive control over the North Korean economy, with substantial state-controlled economic enterprises and significant restrictions on North Koreans' ability to engage in foreign economic activity. 

On 12 December 2013, Kim ordered the execution of his uncle Jang Song-thaek for "treachery". Kim is widely believed to have ordered the assassination of his half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, in Malaysia in February 2017. On 12 June 2018, Kim and US President Donald Trump met for a summit in Singapore, the first-ever talks held between a North Korean leader and a sitting US president, to discuss the North Korean nuclear program.

Personal life

Personality

Kenji Fujimoto, a Japanese chef who was Kim Jong-il's personal cook, described Kim Jong-un as "a chip off the old block, a spitting image of his father in terms of face, body shape, and personality". He said Jong-un was a big fan of The Beatles and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Kim is said to be a fan of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers.

In 2012, Business Insider reported that there were "[s]igns of a rise in luxury goods ... creeping out of North Korea since Kim Jong-un took over" and that his "wife Ri Sol-ju (리설주) was photographed holding what appeared to be an expensive Dior handbag, worth almost $1,594 – an average year's salary in North Korea". According to diplomatic sources, "Kim Jong-un likes to drink and party all night like his father and ordered the [imported sauna] equipment to help him beat hangovers and fatigue."

On 26 February 2013, Kim Jong‑un met Dennis Rodman, which led many reporters to speculate that Rodman was the first American that Kim had met. During Rodman's trip, Vice magazine correspondent Ryan Duffy said that "the leader was 'socially awkward' and didn't make eye contact when shaking hands," though extended eye contact and firm handshakes are generally less common in East Asian cultures.

According to Cheong Seong-chang of the Sejong Institute, Kim Jong-un has greater visible interest in the welfare of his people and engages in greater interaction with them than his father did.

South Koreans who saw Kim at the summit in April 2018 described him as straightforward, humorous, and attentive. After meeting him, Donald Trump said, "I learned he was a talented man. I also learned he loves his country very much." He added that Kim had a "great personality" and was "very smart".

Public image

Forbes magazine ranked Kim as the 36th most powerful person in the world in 2018 and the highest amongst Koreans.

According to a research done by the Korean Research Center done in May 2018, 78% of respondents to a South Korean poll say they trusted Kim.

Wealth

Kim is said to have 17 luxury palaces around North Korea, a fleet of 100, mostly European, luxury cars, a private jet and a 100-foot (30 m) yacht. Rodman described his trip to Kim Jong-un's private island: "It's like Hawaii or Ibiza, but he's the only one that lives there."

Health

In 2009, reports suggested that Kim Jong-un was a diabetic and suffered from hypertension. He is also known to smoke cigarettes.

Kim Jong-un did not appear in public for six weeks in September and October 2014. State media reported that he was suffering from an "uncomfortable physical condition". Previously he had been seen limping. When he reappeared, he was using a walking stick.

In September 2015, the South Korean government commented that Kim appeared to have gained 30 kg in body fat over the previous five years, reaching a total estimated body weight of 130 kg (290 lb).

Rumors of Kim's death circulated in late April 2020. Kim had been absent on the Day of the Sun, 15 April, celebrating the country's founding father, Kim Il Sung, though had been last seen four days prior at a government meeting. Daily NK reported that Kim had gone to a hospital for a cardiovascular surgery on 12 April, but according to CNN reporting from U.S. agencies monitoring intelligence from North Korea, by 21 April Kim's state was in "grave danger" from the surgery. South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported in response to these stories that there were "no unusual signs detected" in regards to Kim's health. The Guardian reported that China had sent a team of doctors on 25 April to North Korea to monitor Kim's condition.

Family

On 25 July 2012, North Korean state media reported for the first time that Kim Jong-un is married to Ri Sol-ju. Ri, who was believed to be in her early 20s, had been accompanying Kim Jong-un to public appearances for several weeks prior to the announcement. According to a South Korean analyst, Kim Jong-il had hastily arranged the marriage after suffering a stroke in 2008, the two married in 2009, and they had a child in 2010. Dennis Rodman, after visiting in 2013, reported that they had a daughter named Ju-ae. However, South Korean sources speculated that they could have many children.

Kim is sometimes accompanied by his younger sister Kim Yo-jong, who is said to be instrumental in creating his public image and organising public events for him. According to Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul, and others, the promotion of Kim Yo-jong and others is a sign that "the Kim Jong-un regime has ended its co-existence with the remnants of the previous Kim Jong-il regime by carrying out a generational replacement in the party's key elite posts".

On 13 February 2017, Kim Jong-nam, the exiled half-brother of Kim Jong-un, was assassinated with the nerve agent VX while walking through Terminal 2 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Jong-un is widely believed to have ordered the assassination.