Kim Jong-un: What makes North Korea’s dictator tick
NORTH Korea’s leader loves basketball, western music Houston and missiles. Yet there’s so much the world doesn’t know about him.
HE has a love for the finer things in life and is obsessed with basketball.
In his younger days Kim Jong-un even had a love for western music including Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.
Kim even gained weight to look like his grandfather Kim Il-sung, the founding leader of North Korea.
A revealing new podcast provides a little more insight into the weird and secretive world of the current North Korean leader.
In it, New York TimesKorean correspondent Choe Sang-Hun provides a little more detail about a man ridiculed and despised around the world.
Choe reveals how Kim had a privileged upbringing far removed from the life of most North Koreans.
At school, he appeared to be like any other kid, but was obsessed with basketball and Michael Jackson.
A former classmate recalled how he liked Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston and why Kim, the youngest son, was selected to take over from his father, Kim Jong-il.
The eldest son Kim Jong-nam made a “critical mistake” in trying to enter Japan, an enemy territory, on a fake passport in 2001.
The second son, Kim Jong-chul, was considered to be too feminine by his father.
Interestingly, Choe also reveals what Kim’s true intention is in stockpiling his nuclear weapons.
Choe said there is an assumption that North Korea is pursuing nuclear weapons because it wants to be internationally recognised like Pakistan and India which have relationships with the rest of the world.
He said Kim is trying to achieve that for himself and his country, but “given the way he’s threatening the world it seems to be a far-fetched goal”.
Here are a few other facts the world might not know about Kim.
HAD A FAST RISE TO THE TOP
Kim had limited political or military experience behind him when he took over his father’s leadership in 2011.
He was in the process of being groomed for the role when his father passed away but was named as the “great successor”.
Since taking power, Kim has accelerated his country’s missile and nuclear weapons program which has increased tensions sharply on the Korean Peninsula.
HAS NICKNAMES
According to the BBC, Kim’s mother Ko Yong-hui was the third wife of Jong-il and was said to be the favourite.
She doted on her son, calling him the “Morning Star King”.
HASN’T MET A FOREIGN LEADER
Kim is the only sitting North Korean leader who has not met with his Chinese counterpart.
He visited China in 2010 during a visit with his father, but hasn’t been overseas since taking power.
His father made several visits to China.
HE’S A FAMILY MAN
In 2012, Kim married Ri Sol-ju, who was reportedly a singer with a taste for luxury clothes and bags.
Eccentric US basketball star Dennis Rodman, who met Kim in 2013 and again the following year, said he was a good dad.
Kim and his wife already have two children whose genders have never been publicly disclosed. One of the children is believed to be a girl.
Recent reports suggest Kim has reportedly fathered a secret third child after his wife disappeared from the public eye for several months.
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