Who is Kim Jong-un

Though not much is known or has been written about this man, the fact that he is energetic and powerful is well discernible from the time he became the world’s youngest head of state. Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea lived most of his life away from the limelight. He inherited the position of Supreme Leader of North Korea from his father Kim Jong-il after the latter’s death in 2011. Kim Jong-un is a dictator in the true sense of the term and gained much popularity for his move towards the public in general.  

Kim Jong-un not only enjoys the title of being the Supreme Leader of North Korea, but also holds some other special power and titles of which includes First Secretary of the Worker’s Party of Korea, Chairman of the National Defense Commission, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Presidium member of the Politburo of the Worker’s Party of Korea, and Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army.

Early Life and Education:

The early life and education of Kim Jong-un is immersed in mystery. No accurate information about his date of birth, early life and education has yet been released. Most of the information is based on assumption and has been taken from few sources here and there. Some of the information is inconsistent as it seemed to have been confused with those of his brother Kim Jong-chul.   As per the North Korean authorities, Kim Jong-un’s birthday is on January 8, 1982. However, according to Dennis Rodman, who happened to meet Kim in September 2013, the birthday of Kim Jong-un falls on January 8, 1983.   There is enough evidence to prove that Kim Jon-un was the youngest son of Kim Jong-il and Ko Yong-hui. While his father Kim Jong-il was the first Supreme Leader of North Korea, his mother Ko Yong-hui was an opera singer. His grandfather, Kim II-sung, was the founding father of North Korea. Kim Jon-un has an elder brother Kim Jong-chul and a sister Kim Yo-jong.   As per the reports published in a Japanese newspaper, Kim Jong-un attended a school in Switzerland near Bern. It is assumed that he studied in an English-language International School in Gümligen during the period of 1993-98. Thereafter he attended Liebefeld Steinhölzli, Köniz during the period of 1998-2000. He was said to be an ambitious student who took great interest in basketball and had great admiration for the American National Basketball Association and Michael Jordan. As a student, however, he was said to be poor.  There are other reports that described him as a shy boy who was uncomfortable with girls.   Some reports have claimed that in the mid-2000s, somewhere between 2001 and 2007, Kim Jong-un had attended Kim II-sung University in Pyongyang. It was a renowned officer-training university named after his grandfather.

Career

Kim Jong-un’s nature and temperament are said to be very much similar to his father Kim Jong-il. It was for this particular reason that Kim Jong-il favored him more over his elder brother Kim Jong-chul. There were reports of his father taking Kim Jong-un on military expeditions to acquaint him with various affairs of the state. In 2009, there surfaced a news of his father grooming Kim Jong-un as his ultimate successor. After a while, Kim Jong-un was assigned a mid-level position in the National Defense Commission (NDC).   Throughout North Korea, Kim Jong-un soon came to be known by the name of Yongmyong-han Tongji, which implied Brilliant Comrade. He was also appointed the head of the State Security Department. Despite the fact that he did not have any military experience, he was offered the high rank of four-star general in 2010. Subsequently, he was made the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission. His name also featured in the Central Committee of the Worker’s Party.  

After his father’s death in December 2011, Kim Jong-un’s was pronounced the Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army on December 2011. He went on to become the First Secretary of the Korean Worker’s Party in March 2012. He thereby presided over his father’s responsibilities as the fair Chairman of the Central Military Commission and as a member of Politburo Presidium. He was declared the Chairman of the National Defense Commission at the 12^th Supreme People’s Assembly in April 2012. July 2012 saw him being promoted to ‘Wonsu’, which is the highest active rank in the military. Eventually, the political and military power came under his control.   During Kim Jong-un’s rule, North Korea performed a series of weapon-testing programs. The main motive behind this was to showcase Kim Jong-un as a powerful leader. People witnessed a glimpse of his grandfather’s pleasing style in Kim Jong-un during his first New Year’s speech in 2013.

Personal Life:

The news that he is married first came to light on July 25, 2012 via the North Korean state media. As per the reports issued by BBC to The Korean Times of South Korea, Kim Jong-un’s marriage to Ri Sol-ju was arranged hastily by his father Kim Jong-il after the latter suffered a heart attack in 2008. The two apparently got married a year later and have a daughter who was born in 2010.
The couple broke previous etiquettes that were set by Kim’s father. Earlier, women had to stay away from the media glare, but since the news of their marriage was unveiled, Ri Sol Ju started making public appearances with her husband. Moreover, Kim Jong-un’s approach towards his rule was more media-oriented as he gave New Year’s broadcast, interacted with the workers and soldiers, attended musical concerts with his wife and took interest in several cultural events.   Kim Jong-un is said to have a deep interest in basketball and is a huge fan of the basketball legend, Michael Jordan. He is also reported to be a womanizer and has several mistresses. Of his lifestyle, Business Insider once stated, “Signs of a rise in luxury goods have been creeping out of North Korea since Kim Jong-un took over as last year. Just recently, Kim’s wife Ri Sol-ju was photographed holding what appeared to be an expensive Dior handbag, worth almost $1,594 — an average year’s salary in North Korea.”   In 2013, Kim Jong-un’s name appeared at the 46^thposition on the Forbes list of “The World’s Most Powerful People”.