Kim Jong Un | |
|---|---|
김정은 | |
.jpg) Kim in 2019 | |
| General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea[a] | |
| Assumed office 11 April 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Kim Jong Il |
| President of the State Affairs of North Korea | |
| Assumed office 29 June 2016 | |
| First Vice President | Choe Ryong Hae |
| Vice President | |
| Premier | |
| Preceded by | Himself (as First Chairman of the National Defense Commission) |
| Commander-in-Chief of the Korean People's Army | |
| Assumed office 30 December 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Kim Jong Il |
| First Chairman of the National Defense Commission | |
| In office 11 April 2012 – 29 June 2016 | |
| Vice Chairman | |
| Premier | |
| Preceded by | Kim Jong Il (as Chairman) |
| Succeeded by | Himself (as President of the State Affairs) |
| Member of the Supreme People's Assembly | |
| In office 9 April 2009 – 11 April 2019 | |
| Constituency | Paektusan 111 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 January 1982[b] Pyongyang, North Korea |
| Political party | Workers' Party of Korea |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 unconfirmed, 1 confirmed: Kim Ju-ae |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | Kim family |
| Alma mater | |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | North Korea |
| Branch/service | Korean People's Army |
| Years of service | 2010–present |
| Rank | Wonsu |
| Korean name | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 김정은 |
| Hancha | |
| Revised Romanization | Gim Jeongeun |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim Chŏngŭn |
| IPA | [kim dzʌŋ.ɯːn][c] |
Central institution membership
Other offices held
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Kim Jong Un[d] (born 8 January 1982, 1983 or 1984)[b] is a North Korean politician who has been supreme leader of North Korea since December 2011 and the general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012.[e] He is the third son of Kim Jong Il, who was the second supreme leader of North Korea, and a grandson of Kim Il Sung, the founder and first supreme leader of the country.
From late 2010, Kim was viewed as the successor to the North Korean leadership. Following his father's death in December 2011, state television announced Kim as the "Great Successor". Kim holds the titles of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and President of the State Affairs. He is also a member of the Presidium of the WPK Politburo, the highest decision-making body in the country. In July 2012, Kim was promoted to the highest rank of Marshal in the Korean People's Army, consolidating his position as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. North Korean state media often refer to him as "Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un" or "Marshal Kim Jong Un". He has promoted the policy of byungjin, similar to Kim Il Sung's policy from the 1960s, referring to the simultaneous development of both the economy and the country's nuclear weapons program. He has also revived the structures of the WPK, expanding the party's power at the expense of the military leadership.
Kim rules North Korea as a totalitarian state, and his leadership has followed the same cult of personality as his father and grandfather. In 2014, a United Nations Human Rights Council report suggested that Kim could be put on trial for crimes against humanity. According to reports, he has ordered the purge and execution of several North Korean officials including his uncle, Jang Song-thaek, in 2013. He is also widely believed to have ordered the assassination of his half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, in Malaysia in 2017. He has presided over an expansion of the consumer economy, construction projects and tourist attractions in North Korea.
Kim expanded the country's nuclear weapons program, which led to heightened tensions with the United States and South Korea, as well as China. In 2018 and 2019, Kim took part in summits with former South Korean president Moon Jae-in and former U.S. president Donald Trump, leading to a brief thaw between North Korea and the two countries, though the negotiations ultimately broke down without progress on reunification of Korea or nuclear disarmament. He has claimed success in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea, as the country did not report any confirmed cases until May 2022, although several South Korean observers have questioned this claim.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "北 후계자 김정은 한자표기 '金正恩'". Kyunghyang Shinmun. October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ 김정은 공식 한자 표기, 正銀 아닌 正恩. Kukmin Ilbo. October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ "Kim Jong-un". Collins English Dictionary: Complete and Unabridged (12th ed.). HarperCollins. 2014. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2021 – via The Free Dictionary.