Kim Jong-un (officially transcribed Kim Jong Un; Chosŏn'gŭl: 김정은; Korean pronunciation: [kim.dzɔŋ.ɯn][a]; born 8 January 1983) is a North Korean politician serving as Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and Leader of the Workers' Party of Korea since 2012.
Marshal of the Republic
Kim Jong-un
김정은
Kim and Trump standing next to each other (cropped).jpg
Kim in June 2018
3rd Supreme Leader of North Korea
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 December 2011
President
Kim Yong-nam
Premier
Choe Yong-rim
Pak Pong-ju
Preceded by
Kim Jong-il
Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 May 2016
First Secretary: 11 April 2012 – 9 May 2016
Deputy
Kim Yong-chol
Preceded by
Kim Jong-il (General Secretary)
Chairman of the State Affairs Commission
Incumbent
Assumed office
30 June 2016
Deputy
Hwang Pyong-so
Choe Ryong-hae
Pak Pong-ju
Preceded by
Office established
In office
13 April 2012 – 30 June 2016
National Defence Commission
Deputy
Kim Yong-chun
Ri Yong-mu
Jang Song-thaek
O Kuk-ryol
Choe Ryong-hae
Hwang Pyong-so
Preceded by
Kim Jong-il
Succeeded by
Office abolished
Chair of the Central Military Commission
Incumbent
Assumed office
11 April 2012
Acting: 17 December 2011 – 11 April 2012
Deputy
Choe Ryong-hae
Ri Yong-ho
Hwang Pyong-so
Preceded by
Kim Jong-il
Leader of the Presidium of the Politburo
Incumbent
Assumed office
11 April 2012
Acting: 17 December 2011 – 11 April 2012
Preceded by
Kim Jong-il
Supreme Commander of the
Korean People's Army
Incumbent
Assumed office
30 December 2011
Preceded by
Kim Jong-il
Personal details
Born
8 January 1983 (age 35)
(South Korean records)[1]
8 January 1984 (age 34)
(American records)[2][3]
Pyongyang, North Korea
Spouse(s)
Ri Sol-ju (m. 2009)
Children
Kim Ju-ae and possibly another two
Alma mater
Kim Il-sung University
Kim Il-sung Military University
Signature
Military service
Allegiance
North Korea
Service/branch
Korean People's Army
Years of service
2010–present
Rank
Marshal of the DPRK rank insignia.svg Marshal of the Republic
Commands
Supreme Commander
Central institution membership
2012–present: Member, Presidium of the Political Bureau of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea
2012–present: Member, Political Bureau of the 6th, 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea
2010–present: Member, 6th, 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea
2014–present: Deputy, 13th Supreme People's Assembly
Other offices held
2012–present: Chairman, Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea
2010–2012: Vice Chairman, Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea
Leaders of the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
← Kim Jong-il Current holder
Kim Jong-un or Kim Jong Un
Kim Jong-un (Korean and Chinese characters).svg
"Kim Jong-un" in Chosŏn'gŭl (top) and hancha (bottom) scripts.
Chosŏn'gŭl
김정은
Hancha
金正恩[4]
Revised Romanization
Gim Jeong(-)eun
McCune–Reischauer
Kim Chŏngŭn
Kim is the second child of Kim Jong-il (1941–2011) and Ko Yong-hui (1952–2004).[5] The grandson of Kim Il-sung, the first leader of North Korea from 1948 to 1994,[6] he is the first North Korean leader to have been born after the country's founding.[7]
From late 2010, Kim Jong-un was viewed as heir apparent to the leadership of the DPRK, and following the elder Kim's death, he was announced as the "Great Successor" by North Korean state television.[8] Kim holds the titles of Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (as First Secretary between 2012 and 2016), Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army,[9] and member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea, the highest decision-making body in North Korea.[10] Kim was promoted to the rank of Marshal of North Korea in the Korean People's Army on 18 July 2012, consolidating his position as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces[11] and is often referred to as Marshal Kim Jong-un or "the Marshal" by state media.[12] Kim obtained two degrees, one in physics at Kim Il-sung University, and another as an Army officer at the Kim Il-sung Military University.[13][14]
Forbes magazine ranked Kim as the 46th most powerful person in the world in 2013 and the third highest amongst Koreans after Ban Ki-moon and Lee Kun-hee.[15] On 12 December 2013, North Korean news outlets reported that Kim Jong-un had ordered the execution of his uncle Jang Song-thaek due to "treachery".[16] On 9 March 2014, Kim was elected unopposed to the Supreme People's Assembly. He is widely believed to have ordered the assassination of his half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, in Malaysia in February 2017.[17][18]
Despite tense relations, North Korea agreed to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, and enter with South Korea during the opening ceremony as a unified Korea, and field a unified team in women's ice hockey. Following the Olympics, Kim Jong-un and President Moon Jae-in conducted the April 2018 inter-Korean summit. It was the first time since the end of the Korean War in 1953 that a North Korean leader entered the South's territory. On 12 June 2018, Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump met for the 2018 North Korea–United States summit in Singapore, the first-ever talks held between a North Korean leader and a sitting US President, to discuss the North Korean nuclear program.