How did Kim Jong-un become the 'supreme leader' of North Korea?

North Korea regularly issues threats against the US and its allies, but under Kim Jong-un, the war of words between the two sides has become more intense than ever.

A North Korea under the leadership of Chairman Kim Jong-un also conducts more missile tests.

Photo: KCNA/Reuters

The world today knows Kim Jong-un as a young leader, fiercely pursuing his ambition to develop missiles and nuclear weapons despite being embargoed by the US and the United Nations. However, his personal life and family have always been a mystery.

According to Business Insider, Kim Jong Un is the son of North Korean President Kim Jong Il and Ko Young Hee. He has an older brother, Kim Jong Chul, and a younger sister, Kim Yo Jong.

Photo: Atimes

Kim Jong-un's official birth year announced by North Korea is 1982, but the US Treasury Department, when putting him under sanctions, stated his birth date as January 8, 1984.

As a child, Kim Jong-un lived with his family. During this time, North Korea was under the leadership of "Great Leader" Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong-un's grandfather.

Known as Pak Un and posing as the son of a North Korean embassy employee, Kim Jong-un is believed to have gone to study at the English-language international school in Gumligen, near Bern, Switzerland. Classmates described him as a quiet boy who spent most of his time at home but had a good sense of humor and got along well with everyone, including students from countries that were enemies of North Korea.

Photo: Business Insider

Kim Jong-un loves basketball and idolizes Michael Jordan. While studying in Switzerland, the boy hung posters of Jordan on his walls. Despite being chubby, Kim Jong-un is a pretty good basketball player.

“He was a fiercely competitive player, very explosive,” Kim Jong Un’s former classmate Nikola Kovacevic told The Mirror.

After studying in Switzerland, Kim Jong-un returned to North Korea to attend the Kim Il Sung Military Academy with his older brother. Some reports say they began attending battlefield inspections with their father around 2007.

In the years leading up to the death of Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un rose rapidly through the ranks of the military and political leadership despite having little experience. According to the BBC, he was promoted to four-star general, held the position of Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party, and a member of the Central Committee.

Kim Jong-un has a theme song called "Footsteps." With propaganda content, the song calls on people to follow in Admiral Kim's footsteps.

"Great Leader" Kim Il Sung.Photo: Wikimedia

Many North Koreans see Kim Jong-un as a younger version of "Great Leader" Kim Il Sung. He looks very much like his grandfather, from his appearance to his hairstyle and personality.

After President Kim Jong-il passed away on December 17, 2011, Kim Jong-un became the "Supreme Leader" of North Korea, with full authority to run a country with the world's fourth-strongest army and a nuclear arsenal.

Kim Jong-il did not choose Kim Jong Chul as his successor because he thought his son was weak.

Thus, at the age of 30, Kim Jong-un is the youngest head of state in the world.

Among Kim Jong-un's most trusted advisers are his aunt Kim Kyong-hui and her husband Jang Sung-taek. Chairman Kim Jong-il reportedly ordered them to take control of the military and help their nephew consolidate his position while he learned the ropes.

Jang Song Taek at a trial in North Korea. Photo: Rodong

But in late 2013, the groom was executed. The North Korean ambassador to the UK revealed that Mr. Taek was executed by firing squad.

North Korean media said their young leader married Ri Sol Ju, a singer, but no one knows exactly when their wedding took place.

Kim Jong-un and his wife. Photo: KCNA/AP

South Korean intelligence believes the couple married in 2009 and have a child. Ri Sol Ju is rumored to have given birth to a girl in 2012. Kim Jong-un and his wife Kim Jong-il are also said to have had another child in 2015.

According to Vietnamnet.vn