Kim Jong-un
(Korean: 김정은,
Hanja: 金正恩,)
also known as Kim Jong-eun or Kim Jung-eun,
formerly Kim Jong-woon or Kim Jung-woon(born
1983 or early 1984), is the third and youngest son of
Kim Jong-il with his late consort Ko Young-hee.
He is a Daejang,
the equivalent to an American four-star general, in
the Korean People's Army. Recent actions, symbolic and
overt, taken in late 2010 by current dictator and
"Dear Leader" of North Korea (officially,
the People's Democratic Republic of Korea), Kim
Jong-il, strongly indicate that Kim Jong-un is now the
heir presumptive to the leadership of the nation upon
Kim Jong-il's death, incapacity, or far less likely,
deliberate abdication. It has been claimed that he
studied computer science privately in Korea.
Early
life
Kim's birth date
is not known for certain, but he is thought to have
been born in 1983 or early 1984. North Korean
officials formerly gave his date of birth as 8 January
1983, but from late 2009 gave 1982 as his birth year,
possibly as part of preparations for his anointment as
successor to his father, as the adjustment would make
him 30 in 2012, which is significant for the regime.
It is reported
that he attended the English-language International
School of Berne, Switzerland until 1998 under a
pseudonym, although this is disputed. Other possible
establishments include the Gümlingen International
School or Liebefeld public school. His pseudonym at Gümlingen
was "Pak Chol" and he pretended to be the
son of a driver. An older student chaperoned him all
the time. In Liebefeld, he told his friend Joao
Micaelo that he was the son of the heir to the North
Korea leader. The ambassador of North Korea in
Switzerland, Ri Tcheul, had a close relationship with
him and acted as a mentor while there. Switzerland has
always stayed neutral between the North and South
Korea conflicts. The Kim clan is said to organise
family meetings at the Lac Léman and
Interlaken.
For many years,
only one confirmed photograph of him existed,
apparently taken in the mid-1990s, when he was eleven.
Occasional other supposed images of him surfaced but
were often disputed. It was only in June 2010, shortly
before he was given official posts and publicly
introduced to the North Korean people, that more
pictures were released of Kim, taken when he was
attending school in Switzerland. The first official
image of him as an adult was a group photograph
released on 30 September 2010 at the end of the party
conference that effectively anointed him, in which he
is seated in the front row, two places from his
father. This was followed by newsreel footage of him
attending the conference.
Succession
Kim Jong-un is
expected to become leader of the country after his
father. His eldest half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, had
been the favorite to succeed, but reportedly fell out
of favour after 2001, when he was caught attempting to
enter Japan on a fake passport to visit Tokyo
Disneyland.
Kim Jong-il's
former personal chef, Kenji Fujimoto, revealed details
regarding Kim Jong-un, with whom he shared a good
relationship, stating that he is favored to be his
father's successor. Fujimoto also claimed that Jong-un
is favored by his father over his elder brother,
Jong-chul, reasoning that Jong-chul is too feminine in
character, while Jong-un is "exactly like his
father". Furthermore Fujimoto stated that
"If power is to be handed over then Jong-un is
the best for it. He has superb physical gifts, is a
big drinker and never admits defeat." When Jong-un
was 18, Fujimoto described an episode where Jong-un
questioned his lavish lifestyle and asked, "We
are here, playing basketball, riding horses, riding
Jet Skis, having fun together. But what of the lives
of the average people?" On 15 January 2009 the
South Korean news agency, Yonhap, reported that Kim
Jong-il appointed Kim Jong-un to be his successor.
On 8 March 2009,
the BBC reported rumors that Kim Jong-un appeared on
the ballot for elections to the Supreme People's
Assembly, the rubber stamp parliament of North Korea.
Subsequent reports indicate that his name did not
appear on the list of lawmakers, however he was later
elevated to a mid-level position in the National
Defense Commission, which is a branch of the North
Korean Military. Reports have also suggested that he
is a diabetic and suffers from hypertension.
From 2009, it
was understood by foreign diplomatic services that Kim
was to succeed his father Kim Jong-il as the head of
the Korean Workers' Party and de-facto head of state
of North Korea. He has been named "Yŏngmyŏng-han
Tongji" (영명한
동지)
which loosely translates to "Brilliant
Comrade". His father had also asked embassy staff
abroad to pledge loyalty to his son. There have also
been reports that citizens in North Korea have been
encouraged to sing a newly composed "song of
praise" to Kim Jong-un, in a similar fashion to
that of praise songs relating to Kim Jong-il and Kim
Il-sung. Later in June, Kim was reported to have
visitedChina secretly to "present
himself" to the Chinese leadership, who later
warned against North Korea conducting another nuclear
test. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has strongly denied
that this visit occurred.
North Korea was
later reported to have backed the succession plan,
after Kim Jong-il suspended a propaganda campaign to
promote his youngest son. His birthday has since
become a national holiday, celebrated on 1 January,
according to a report by a South Korean website. He
was expected to be named on 28 September 2010 as
successor to his father as leader of North Korea.
Former U.S.
President Jimmy Carter visited China in early
September 2010, and discussed the issue of North
Korean leadership succession with Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao. According to Carter, Wen told Carter that Kim
Jong-il had said to Wen that Kim Jong-un's prospective
promotion to paramount leader of North Korea was
"a false rumor from the West."
Kim Jong-un was
made a Daejang, the equivalent to an American
Four-Star General, on 27 September 2010, a day ahead
of a rare Workers' Party of Korea conference in
Pyongyang, the first time North Korean media had
mentioned him by name and despite his having no
previous military experience.Despite the promotion, no
further details, including verifiable portraits of
Jong-un were released. On 28 September 2010 he was
named vice chairman of the Central Military Commission
and appointed to the Central Committee of the Workers'
Party, in an apparent nod to become the successor to
Kim Jong-il.
On 10 October
2010, alongside his father the North Korean leader,
Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un attended the ruling Workers'
Party's 65th anniversary celebration. This was seen as
fully confirming his position as the next leader of
the Workers' Party. Unprecedented international press
access was granted to the event, further indicating
the importance of Kim Jong-un's presence.
Some analysts
believe that upon Kim Jong-il's death, Jong-un's uncle
Chang Sung-taek will act as regent, as Jong-un is
presently too inexperienced to immediately lead the
country.
Name
His name was
first reported as 김정운
(金正雲),
possibly an error in transliterating the name from
Japanese to Korean, as the Japanese language does not
distinguish between 운
(un) and 은
(eun). The
initial source of his name was Kim Jong-il's former
personal chef, known by the pen name Kenji Fujimoto,
who was among the few who had access to information
about Kim's household from inside the secretive regime
