Historical Figure
Kim Jong Un
b. 1982
Leader of North Korea since 2011
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Biography
Kim Jong Un is a North Korean politician and dictator who serves as both the general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and the president of the State Affairs Commission. A member of the Kim family, he is the third supreme leader of North Korea, as well as the fifth child of Kim Jong Il, his predecessor as supreme leader, and a grandson of Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea.
Timeline
The story of Kim Jong Un, told in moments.
His father dies on a train. Kim Jong Un is around 27. He inherits a nuclear-armed state, the world's most isolated country, and absolute power. Foreign analysts predict the young heir won't last a year.
Executes his uncle Jang Song-thaek, the second most powerful man in North Korea. State media calls him 'worse than a dog.' Jang had been his regent and mentor. The execution sends a message to every potential rival.
His half-brother Kim Jong-nam is assassinated in Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Two women smear VX nerve agent on his face. They later say they thought they were filming a prank show.
Meets President Donald Trump at a resort hotel in Singapore. The first sitting U.S. president to meet a North Korean leader. They shake hands for 13 seconds. No concrete denuclearization follows.
In Their Own Words (6)
I know the Americans are inherently disposed against us, but when they talk with us, they will see that I am not the kind of person who would shoot nuclear weapons to the south, over the Pacific or at the United States.
Said to Moon Jae-in during the April 2018 inter-Korean summit according to a South Korean government spokesman, as quoted in Slate, 2018
In no way would the United States dare to ignite a war against me and our country. The whole of its mainland is within the range of our nuclear strike and the nuclear button is on my office desk all the time; the United States needs to be clearly aware that this is not merely a threat but a reality.
New Year 2018 address, 2018
President Donald Trump's remarks which described the U.S. option through straightforward expression of his will have convinced me, rather than frightening or stopping me, that the path I chose is correct and that it is the one I have to follow to the last. [...] Action is the best option in treating the dotard who, hard of hearing, is uttering only what he wants to say. [...] I am now thinking hard about what response he could have expected when he allowed such eccentric words to trip off his tongue. Whatever Trump might have expected, he will face results beyond his expectation. I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire.
Official statement from September 22, 2017, as quoted in Washington Post, 2017
The effort to develop the economy and improve the people’s standard of living can be successful only when it is backed by powerful military capabilities, nuclear forces. In the spirit with which we conquered outer space and with the mettle with which we succeeded in the nuclear test of a high level, we must push ahead simultaneously with the campaign to defend the country and the construction of an economic giant, and thus achieve the happiness of the people and the prosperity of the powerful Paektusan nation without fail.
Report to the March 2013 Plenary Meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, announcing the byungjin (dual advancement) policy line, 2013
Yesterday, we were a weak and small country trampled upon by big powers. Today, our geopolitical location remains the same, but we are transformed into a proud political and military power and an independent people that no one can dare provoke. The days are gone forever when our enemies could blackmail us with nuclear bombs.
April 15th 2012 speech in Kim Il-Sung Square,, 2012
Artifacts (14)
Facets of the North Korea conflict: actors, problems and Europe’s interests
Auch nach dem Gipfeltreffen von US-Präsident Donald Trump und Nordkoreas Staatschef Kim Jong Un am 12. Juni 2018 in Singapur zählt die Krise um Nordkoreas Atom- und Massenvernichtungswaffenprogramm zu...
Die Denuklearisierung Nordkoreas: Von Maximalforderungen zu Rüstungskontrolle
Während seiner Mitgliedschaft 2019/2020 im Sicherheitsrat der Vereinten Nationen will Deutschland Impulse zur Abrüstung und Rüstungskontrolle geben. Eine besondere Herausforderung in dieser Hinsicht...
I have seen things lately that I am not likely to forget
eer. On 18 September 1916, after the Battle of Flers-Courcelette (part of the Battle of the Somme), he wrote to his mother, "I have seen things lately that I am not likely to forget". On 3 October, he...
There now, you have had your first taste of the next war.
at a conference in 1935. At one point, when brigade HQ was bombed by German aircraft, his companion told him, "There now, you have had your first taste of the next war." On 26 May 1918, he was...
Chinas Debatte über Nordkorea: aus chinesischen Fachzeitschriften und sozialen Medien der Jahre 2013-2015
Der nordkoreanische Machthaber Kim Jong-un hat seine Teilnahme an der chinesischen Gedenkfeier zum 70. Jahrestag des Sieges im Zweiten Weltkrieg im September 2015 abgesagt. Da er schon seine Reise zu...
That young man is coming along rapidly; not only can he make a good speech but h...
appeasement which is needed". Eden's speech was met with approval by the House of Commons. Neville Chamberlain commented shortly afterwards, "That young man is coming along rapidly; not only can he...
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