Mr Kim is also widely believed to have ordered the murder of his exiled half-brother , Kim Jong-nam, in February at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Not much was known of Mr Kim's personal life until television footage of an unidentified woman attending events with him surfaced. Little is known of Ms Ri, but her stylish appearance led some analysts to suggest that she was from an upper-class family.
Reports have suggested that Ms Ri may have been a singer who caught Mr Kim's attention during a performance. According to South Korean intelligence, the couple have three children.
Mr Kim's sister, Kim Yo-jong, holds a senior post in the Workers' Party of Korea - and stole the limelight when she represented her brother at the Winter Olympics in the South. It is not known whether his elder brother, Kim Jong-chol, holds an official role. In April , rumours about Kim Jong-un's health alleged he might have undergone a serious operation and there was uncertainty about his recovery.
The reports were based on South Korean fringe publication Daily NK and seemed to be backed up by the fact that Mr Kim had missed the anniversary of his grandfather's birthday, the almost mythical founder of North Korea, Kim Il-sung. Whether true or not, the intense speculation over the health of the obese year-old reveal a crucial weakness of the North Korean dynasty.
The question of succession has the potential to bring the brutally enforced authoritarian structure to the brink of disintegration each time a leader passes away.
Mr Kim's children are said to be too young to be even considered for succession. In the framework of North Korea's political mythology, power is legitimised by the Mount Paektu bloodline going back to Kim Il-sung. The further removed from the country founder a new generation is, the higher the chance a power struggle between party, army and government could escalate.
North Korea crisis in words. Meet North Korea's first family. Is Kim Jong-un getting a media makeover? This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Who is North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un? Image source, Reuters. Kim Jong-un has received numerous official titles since becoming North Korea's leader. Image source, AFP. The undated image shows Kim Jong-un as a student in Switzerland.
North Korea crisis in words Is Kim Jong-un getting a media makeover? Image source, KCNA. State media showed Kim Jong-un celebrating the launch of a ballistic missile in In contrast with his battle-hardened elders, Kim Jong-un grew up in a cocoon of indulgence and privilege. During the s famine, in which as many as 2—3 million North Koreans died as a result of starvation and hunger-related illnesses, Kim was in Switzerland. For Kim, skiing in the Swiss Alps and swimming in the French Riviera must have seemed part of his birthright.
Kim had a temper, hated to lose, and loved Hollywood movies and basketball player Michael Jordan. We were always in the second tier … The teachers would see him struggling ashamedly and then move on. They left him in peace. He was much more interested in football and basketball than lessons. His strong self-esteem and confidence were cultivated beginning when he was very young. And the Kim family dynasty—a totalitarian regime—carefully created a cult of personality around the young boy, as it had done with his father and grandfather before him, reinforcing it through fear and intimidation and shows of force.
According to Fujimoto, Kim carried a Colt. Everything—our parents, family, home, neighborhood, school, country—revolves around us. For most people, what follows is a long process of dethronement, as His Majesty the Child confronts the ever more obvious and humbling truth. Not so for Kim. His world at age 5 has turned out to be his world at age 30 … Everyone does exist to serve him. These tools allowed him to validate his persecution of any real or suspected dissenters, and to maintain a horrific network of prison camps in which torture, rape, beatings, and a variety of other human rights violations continue to take place to this day, as they have done for many decades.
As the U. The markings on the street are for military parades—a hallmark of dictatorships the world over. As a scholar of U. Kim Jong-un seems determined to avoid that fate. Kim has adopted the mantle of the mythical, godlike leadership role that grandfather and country founder Kim Il-sung and his father Kim Jong-il held and continue to hold in their death.
But he seems determined to chart his own path. Kim has allowed himself to seem more transparent and accessible than his father. He appears in public with his pretty and fashionable young wife, Ri Sol-ju with whom he has at least one child, and possibly three. He hugs, holds hands, and links arms with men, women, and children, seeming comfortable with both young and old.
That transparency has been extended to the government. When one of its satellite launches failed in April , the regime admitted the failure publicly, the first time it had ever done so. During his frequent public appearances, Jong-un can be seen giving guidance at various economic, military, and social and cultural venues, as his father and grandfather did, but he is also shown pulling weeds, riding roller coasters, navigating a tank, and galloping on a horse.
He is comfortable with technology in the form of cell phones and laptops, and is also portrayed speaking earnestly with nuclear scientists and overseeing scores of missile tests.
Kim appears to want to reinforce the impression that he is young, vigorous, on the move—qualities that he attributes to his country as well. Speaking directly to the people in April in that first public speech he gave as their leader, he confidently promised that North Koreans would no longer have to tighten their belts.
Later he announced his byungjin policy: that North Korea can have both its nuclear weapons and prosperity. Animated by the optimism of one whose privilege made him believe anything was possible, he has prioritized both these issues and personally taken ownership of them—all part of creating and nurturing his brand.
For the toiling masses as well as for the elite, Ri, the glamorous and devoted wife, is an aspirational figure. Even as tension with the United States went into overdrive after a sixth nuclear test and the launch of numerous ballistic missiles during the summer and fall of , state media showed Kim and his wife touring a North Korean cosmetics factory.
But what of the lives of the average people? Kim may also be using the imagery of these amenities as a corrective, a way of undermining the dominant external narrative of a decaying, starving, economically hobbled North Korea.
Of course, Kim still has enormous power and, like his father and grandfather, the willingness to hold onto it through extreme brutality. He maintains control through purges and executions—punishments and acts of revenge he appears to inflict with relish. Kim has made it clear that he will not tolerate any potential challengers. Kim Jong-il reportedly took a liking to Kim Jong-un, noting that he saw in the youth a temperament similar to himself.
It is also thought that Kim Jong-un may have been educated abroad in Switzerland before attending the Kim Il-sung Military University named after his grandfather in the capital of Pyongyang in the mids. Kim Jong-il began to prepare Kim Jong-un for succession to leadership in Upon his father's death in December , Kim Jong-un assumed power. He was believed to be in his late 20s at the time.
In December , Jang was reportedly arrested and executed for being a traitor and plotting to overthrow the government. It is also believed that members of Jang's family were executed as part of the purge.
Although many details remained unclear, it was believed he was poisoned at Kuala Lumpur airport, and multiple suspects were arrested. Kim Jong-nam had been living in exile for many years, during which time he served as a vocal critic of his half-brother's regime. Under Kim Jong-un's authority, North Korea continued its weapons-testing programs.
Though agreeing in February to halt nuclear testing and to a cessation on long-range missile launching, in April the country launched a satellite that failed shortly after takeoff.
Then, in December of the same year, the government launched a long-range rocket that put a satellite in orbit. The U. In February , North Korea held its third underground nuclear test.
The act was roundly condemned by the international community, including the United States, Russia, Japan and China. In the face of further sanctions, analysts stated that Kim's continued focus on armament while calling for U.
By September , the country reportedly conducted its fifth underground nuclear test, despite a history of sanctions imposed by the U. Other countries staunchly denounced the move and called for North Korea's denuclearization, with South Korean president Park Geun-hye particularly concerned about the security implications of the continued weapons testing and Kim's mental state. In February , North Korea launched what its state media described as a medium long-range ballistic missile, with Kim said to be present at the site to supervise.
The test sparked more outrage from the international community and calls for an urgent U. Security Council meeting. Kim notably butted heads with Donald Trump after the latter's election to the U. The two exchanged numerous threats of warfare, and even took to personally insulting the other.
In November , during a stop on a tour of Asia, President Trump took a softer stance, urging North Korea to "come to the table" to discuss disarmament. After the conclusion of Trump's tour, North Korean officials said the regime would continue to expand its nuclear capabilities as long as South Korea and the U. S engaged in joint military exercises.
Kim punctuated that statement by calling Trump a "depraved and stupid guy," and the U. In late November, North Korea crossed another threshold with the launch of its Hwasong missile, which reached a height of approximately 2, miles above ground, before splashing down off the coast of Japan. Afterward, Kim declared that North Korea had "finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force. Defense Secretary James Mattis admitted that the test missile soared "higher, frankly, than any previous shot they have taken" and confirmed that North Korea was now capable of reaching any location on the planet with a strike.
The launch drew swift condemnation from Japan and South Korea, while President Trump tersely noted, "We will take care of it. In April , before his summit with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, Kim announced that he would suspend the country's nuclear and missile testing and shut down the site where the previous six nuclear tests were held.
Kim struck a measured tone during his New Year's Day speech to open , in which he stressed the need to "lower the military tensions on the Korean Peninsula" and suggested he would send a delegation to compete in the upcoming Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Nevertheless, he made sure to issue one of his usual threats to his overseas antagonists, warning the U.
His overtures, viewed by some analysts as an attempt to drive a wedge between U. On January 9, , representatives from North and South Korea met at the Panmunjom truce village, on the border between the two countries, for their first discussions in more than two years.
0コメント