Kim Jong-un Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics

Kim Jong-un is a North Korean politician and best known for being the incumbent Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 after the death of his father and the former Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-il, making him one of the youngest heads of government in the world. In 2012, Kim was also made the Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea. Forbes magazine in 2013 placed him at 46th place in their ‘most powerful person in the world’ list.

Born Name

Kim Jong-un

Nick Name

Little Rocket Man, Fatty #3, Yŏngmyŏng-han Tongji

Sun Sign

Capricorn

Born Place

Pyongyang, North Korea

Residence

Pyongyang, North Korea

Nationality

Education

Kim attended the Liebefeld Steinhölzli state school in Köniz near Bern. He further, attended officer-training school,  Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang from where he got his degree in physics and at the Kim Il-sung Military University he graduated as an Army officer.

Occupation

Politician, Supreme Leader of North Korea

Family

• Father – Kim Jong-il (Second Leader of North Korea)
• Mother – Ko Yong-hui
• Siblings – Kim Jong-chul (Older Brother) (Politician), Kim Yo-jong (Younger Sister) (Politician)
• Others – Kim Jong-nam (Half-Brother) (Politician), Kim Sol-song (Half-Sister) (Politician)

Build

Large

Height

5 ft 7 in or 170 cm

Weight

136 kg or 300 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Kim has dated –

1. Ri Sol-ju (2009-Present) – It was reported on July 25, 2012, that Kim had married Ri Sol-ju although she had been accompanying him even before that announcement. It was reported that Kim’s father arranged the marriage in a hurry after he suffered from a stroke in 2008. The marriage had taken place in 2009 and the couple became proud parents to a child in 2010. The child was reported to be a daughter named Kim Ju-ae. As per South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, the couple has a total of 3 children including Ju-ae. Kim introduced Ri as his wife for the first time in the Moranbong Band concert in July 2012 which was a never-before done move in North Korea. Kim’s daughter was seen for the first time in public in November 2022 during North Korea’s ballistic missile test. In February 2023, Ri Sol-ju was seen wearing a necklace with a pendant in the shape of an intercontinental ballistic missile before a military parade at the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Korean People’s Army in Pyongyang.

Race / Ethnicity

Asian

He has North Korean ancestry.

Hair Color

Black

Eye Color

Dark Brown

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Chubby Face
• Wear Spectacles

Religion

Atheism

Best Known For

• Being a Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 that makes him one of the youngest serving heads of government in the world
• Having served as the Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea
• Being referred to as the 46th most powerful person in the world in 2013 by Forbes magazine

First TV Show

Kim made his first TV show appearance on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt as “Himself” in 2010.

Kim Jong-un Favorite Things

• Cigarettes Brand – Yves Saint Laurent
• Whiskey Brand – Johnnie Walker
• Actor –  Jean-Claude Van Damme
• Band – The Beatles

Source – Wikipedia

Kim Jong-un Facts

1. There is a conflict regarding his date of birth. While the North Korean authorities and state-run media state his birthdate to be January 8, 1982, the South Korean intelligence officials suggest that it is a year later, while, certain American records say that his actual birth year is 1984.
2. The reason behind his changed birth year is considered to be for symbolic reasons as 1982 born would be 70 years after the birth of his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, and 40 years after the official birth of his father Kim Jong-il.
3. Kim attended school under the name Pak-un or Un-pak and was disguised as the son of an employee of the North Korean embassy in Bern.
4. He was first enrolled for the special class for foreign-language children briefly after which he began attending the regular classes of the 6th, 7th, 8th, and part of the final 9th year. It is said that Kim left the school abruptly in 2000.
5. Although Kim was said to be a well-integrated and ambitious student but his grades and attendance were reported to be not so good. Some reports also revealed him to be shy, awkward around girls, and not interested in political issues.
6. He also indulged in playing basketball and had a liking for the American National Basketball Association and the famous basketball player Michael Jordan with whom he was obsessed.
7. It was revealed by some of his school friends that he used to spend hours doing pencil drawings and mostly drew Chicago Bulls and superstar Michael Jordan.
8. As a child, Kim was obsessed with basketball and video games.
9. Apart from a physics degree, he also has a degree as an army officer.
10. In February 2018, reports surfaced that Kim and his father had accessed fake passports which were said to have been issued by Brazil and dated February 26, 1996, and Kim’s passport holds the name Josef Pwag and a date of birth of February 1, 1983. Both their passports were said to have been signed by the Embassy of Brazil in Prague and their purpose was to apply for visas in various countries.
11. For many years, there was only 1 confirmed photograph of Kim in which he was seen outside of North Korea, and the picture was apparently taken in the 1990s when he was 11 years old. Later, a few other supposed pictures came out but they were disputed.
12. All his school-time pictures came out only after he was publicly introduced to the people of North Korea in June 2010.
13. Apparently, Kim was not the first choice for succession. It is said that his oldest half-brother, Kim Jong-nam was a favorite but lost favor when he got caught in an attempt to enter Japan with a fake passport in order to visit Tokyo Disneyland in 2001.
14. Kim’s former chef Kenji Fujimoto with whom he shared a good relationship revealed that his father had always favored him as he thought that Kim was just like him in character. Kenji described Kim as someone who has ‘superb physical gifts, is a big drinker and never admits defeat’. He also revealed that Kim smokes and owns a Mercedes-Benz 600 luxury sedan.
15. Kim was announced as the successor by his father in January 2009.
16. After he was presented as a successor, some reports suggested that the people of North Korea were asked to sing a newly composed “song of praise” in honor of him as they did for the previous leaders Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung.
17. In 2009, reports surfaced that Kim was involved in the Cheonan sinking and the bombardment of Yeonpyeong events in order to make his military credentials stronger and enable a successful transfer of power from his father.
18. On September 27, 2010, he was made a daejang, which is equivalent to a four-star general in the United States.
19. On September 28, 2010, he was made the vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission and joined the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party.
20. After holding the position of Supreme Leader in 2011, Kim showed a certain change in his ruling policy by attending a Moranbong Band concert in July 2012. It was a unique event as the concert included many elements of pop culture from the West, especially the United States and it was for the first time that he made a public appearance with his wife.
21. According to reports, Kim’s ruling policy seems to be very different from that of his father.
22. Since 2013, he has also faced several allegations including human rights violations and crimes against humanity.
23. In May 2017, it was reported by the North Korean government that a North Korean was hired by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States and the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) in order to kill Kim and the weapon was described as a biochemical weapon that was radioactive and nano-poisonous.
24. In 2009, reports surfaced that Kim was diabetic and also a patient of hypertension and in September and October 2014 he took a break from appearing in public as he was reported to be suffering from an ‘uncomfortable physical condition’ by the Korean media. Later in 2015, the media speculated that he had gained weight.
25. Kim was the 2nd most searched person of 2020 on Google in the United States.
26. In February 2023, it was reported that Kim was not seen in public for more than 30 days which made many people think that he was ill once again. His longest disappearance from the public before this was in 2014 when he was absent for straight 40 days.
27. In June 2023, he secretly banned suicide in North Korea. In 2023, the country had seen a 40% increase in suicide cases as compared to 2022.
28. In August 2023, he called for war preparations by expanding military drills and increasing weapon production and even fired North Korea’s military top general.
29. In August 2023, North Korea’s Pyongyang was hit by a missile which was believed to be an attempt to kill Kim.
30. In December 2023, he urged women to have more babies as the birthrate in North Korea was continuously decreasing. According to the United Nations, an average woman in North Korea was giving birth to 1.8 children.
31. He is not active on social media.

Featured Image by The White House / Flickr / Public Domain