The road to power of leader Kim Jong-un

From his youth, Kim Jong-un was educated in an academic environment abroad before becoming the supreme leader of North Korea and the youngest head of state in the world.

Exact year of birth

Kim Jong-un as a child. Photo: Independent

Kim Jong-un was born on January 8 and is the son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his wife Ko Young-hee. He has an older brother, Kim Jong-chul, and a younger sister, Kim Yo-jong.

There is still much debate about the actual year of Kim Jong-un's birth. Although North Korea officially lists his birth year as 1982, many sources say that it was actually changed for symbolic reasons. One of them was to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the birth of Kim Jong-un's grandfather, Kim Il-sung, and the 40th anniversary of the birth of his father, Kim Jong-il.

As a child, Kim Jong-un lived with his parents and siblings in his hometown. During this time, the supreme leader of North Korea was Kim Il-sung. Although Kim Jong-il was then recognized as the heir apparent to the North Korean leadership, the path to supreme command for his son, Kim Jong-un, was uncertain.

Study in Switzerland

Mr. Kim Jong-un (red circle) takes a photo with friends in Switzerland. Photo: Independent

After his childhood in North Korea, Kim Jong-un was sent to Switzerland to attend an English-language international boarding school in Gumligen, near Bern. He took the name “Pak Un” and went to school as the son of an employee of the North Korean embassy in Switzerland.

Classmates described Kim Jong-un as a quiet student who spent most of his time at home. However, he was praised for his sense of humor.

“He was funny. He was always smiling,” Marco Imhof, a former classmate of Kim Jong-un, told the Daily Mirror.

“He had a good sense of humor and was friendly with everyone, even students from countries hostile to North Korea. Politics was a taboo subject at school. We only discussed football and not politics,” another classmate of Kim Jong-un told Welt am Sonntag.

Basketball and Idols

Mr. Kim Jong-un (red circle) as a student in Switzerland. Photo: Yonhap

During his school days in Switzerland, Kim Jong-un was said to have hung pictures of basketball star Michael Jordan all over his house. Despite his chubby appearance and being only 5-6 years old, Kim Jong-un was quite good at playing basketball. In addition, Kim also had a hobby of collecting Nike sneakers.

“He plays basketball in a competitive and explosive way. He is a creator. He hates losing. Winning is very important to him,” Marco Imhof revealed.

Military school

Mr. Kim Jong-un and his father, late leader Kim Jong-il (right), visit an Air Force unit. Photo: Yonhap

After leaving Switzerland, Kim Jong-un returned to North Korea and attended Kim Il-sung Military Academy with his older brother. Some sources say that the two brothers began accompanying their father on military inspections in 2007.

As late leader Kim Jong-il weakened, Kim Jong-un was quickly promoted to the military and political leadership ranks in North Korea despite having little experience at the time.

According to the BBC, Kim Jong-un was then promoted to four-star general, held the position of vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and became a member of the Central Executive Committee.

Supreme Leader

Kim Jong-un took power from his father in 2011. Photo: Reuters

After the late leader Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack on December 17, 2011, Kim Jong-un took over the country from his father, commanding the world's fourth largest military force, nuclear arsenal, and supreme leadership in North Korea. Coming to power at the age of 30, Kim Jong-un is considered the youngest head of state in the world.

According to The Australian, on the ladder of power, Kim Jong-il has "surpassed" his brother Kim Jong-chul - who is considered too weak, and his half-brother Kim Jong-nam - who has made negative statements about the North Korean regime.

Get married and have children

Leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju. Photo: KCNA

In July 2012, North Korean media reported that leader Kim Jong-un had married Ri Sol-ju, a former singer and cheerleader, but the date of their marriage was not disclosed. Some sources said the couple married in 2009 or 2010.

Ms Ri is believed to have come from a prominent family, with her mother being a doctor and her father a professor. Before marrying Mr Kim Jong-un, Ms Ri is said to have studied music in China and moved to South Korea in 2015 to join a cheerleading squad.

They are believed to have three children, born in 2010 and 2013, with the youngest born about two years ago. However, North Korean media has never mentioned these three children.

South Korean intelligence said that Kim Jong-un's first child, born in 2010, was determined to be a boy. Meanwhile, some sources said that the North Korean leader's first two children were both girls, so the couple decided to continue having a third child, a son, to succeed the Kim family.

Consolidation of power

North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un waves to the people. Photo: Reuters

Since taking power, Kim Jong-un has been determined to build North Korea into a nuclear power to confront the US and South Korea. Under his rule, North Korea has conducted a series of nuclear and missile tests, with the number of them far greater than the previous administrations of his father and grandfather.

After Kim Jong-un took power, North Korea launched its first satellite into orbit in 2012. Then, in 2013, Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear test under Kim Jong-un, the third in North Korea's history. In September this year, the country continued to claim to have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb in its sixth and most powerful nuclear test to date.

Many North Koreans consider Kim Jong-un to be a younger version of their late leader Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-un resembles his grandfather not only in appearance, personality, and hairstyle, but also in style. In North Korea, a propaganda song called “Footsteps” is written specifically for Kim Jong-un, calling on the people to “follow in the footsteps of leader Kim.”

According to Dan Tri