Kim Jong Un is the third supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, unofficially known as North Korea. In addition to being the supreme leader, who took over after the death of his father, Kim is also the chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the country’s founding and leading political party.

Early life

According to American sources, Kim Jong Un was born on January 8, 1984 as the second of three children of opera singer Ko Yong-hui, a partner of Kim Jong-il, in North Korea.

He first attended a private English-language international school in Gumligen, Bern, Switzerland under the pseudonym Pak-chol from 1993 to 1998, where he was described as a shy basketball-loving student. However, conflicting reports state that the student using the alias Pak-chol was actually his older brother Kim Jong-chul. It goes on to say that the supreme leader himself attended a state school in Koniz, also near Bern, under the pseudonym Un-pak.

What is undisputed is that Kim returned home after completing his studies in Switzerland to enroll at Kim Il-sung Military University in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Kim Jong-il is said to have preferred Kim Jong Un as his successor after liking his temperament, which was said to be similar to his. His son, now a young adult, began accompanying his father on military inspections and was listed as a candidate for the Supreme People’s Assembly in 2009, while also being nominated to serve on the National Defense Commission.

His wife

Kim Jong Un is married to Ri Sol-ju, who is considered a former cheerleader and singer. The couple reportedly married in 2009 and have a daughter named Ju-ae who was born in 2012.

Ri Sol-ju’s date of birth is unknown, however, it is estimated that she was born between 1985 and 1989. She has been seen publicly a number of times, most recently in China with her husband during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife.

Kim Jong Un’s sister

Kim Jong Un has two sisters; Kim Sol-song was born in 1974 to Kim Jong-il’s second wife, Kim Young-sook, and Kim Yo-jong was born to Jong Un’s own mother in 1987.

Kim Sol-Song is not very active in the running of today’s North Korean politics, although she was described as his favorite during her father’s regime and worked in the propaganda department of the Workers’ Party Central Committee. She was also reportedly made a lieutenant colonel in the North Korean People’s Army.

Kim Yo-jong, on the other hand, became known to the public when she attended a Korean Labor Party in September 2010. She was then pictured alongside her brother at her father’s funeral procession before being introduced as a senior official in the Korean Workers’ Party Central Committee in 2014.

Like her brother, Yo-jong attended school in Switzerland before returning home to enroll at Kim Il-sung Military University. The couple maintained a very close lifelong relationship that has made them an alternate member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea. She is also in charge of the State Security Department.

In 2014, when Kim Jong Un was reportedly ill, KimYo-jong was supposed to be in charge of state affairs until her brother returned. During the 2018 South Korea Olympics, she became the first member of the Kim dynasty to visit South Korea since the Korean War.

Relationship with Dennis Rodman

Kim Jong Un, who was an avid basketball fan during his growing up, is a good friend of former basketball player Dennis Rodman, although he was first a big fan of his because he played on the North Korean leader’s favorite basketball team, the Chicago Bulls.

The two first met in February 2013 when Rodman was traveling to North Korea with the Harlem Globetrotters for a television series. Rodman revisited the country in 2014 to play an exhibition game with retired NBA players as a birthday present for Kim.