WikipediaExtracts:Kim Jong-un
Extracted from Wikipedia --
Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is the supreme leader and dictator of North Korea, and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). A member of the Kim family, he is the third son of Kim Jong Il, his predecessor as supreme leader, and a grandson of Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea. He is the third supreme leader of North Korea, and also serves as the president of the State Affairs Commission and the chairman of the Central Military Commission.
From late 2010, Kim was viewed as the successor to the North Korean leadership. Following his father's death in December 2011, state television announced Kim as the "great successor to the revolutionary cause". He assumed various leadership posts, and also became member of the Presidium of the WPK Politburo, the highest decision-making body in the country. In July 2012, Kim was promoted to the highest rank of marshal in the Korean People's Army, consolidating his positions as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
Kim Jong Un rules North Korea as a totalitarian dictatorship, and his leadership has followed the same cult of personality as his father and grandfather. State media often refer to him as "Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un" or "Marshal Kim Jong Un". Kim's regime has been accused of human rights violations. He reportedly ordered the purge and execution of several North Korean officials including his uncle, Jang Song-thaek, in 2013. He is also widely believed to have ordered the assassination of his half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, in Malaysia in 2017.
Kim Jong Un's ideology departed from his father's military-first Songun policy, professing a "people-first policy" and renewed commitment to communism. Kim revived the Kim Il Sung-era pyŏngjin policy, of parallel development of the country's economy and military, focusing on its nuclear weapons program. He has also revived the structures of the WPK, expanding the party's power at the expense of the military leadership.
Kim oversaw four nuclear weapons tests and extensive missile tests, which led to heightened tensions with South Korea, the United States, and China, culminating in the 2017–2018 North Korea crisis. In 2018 and 2019, Kim took part in summits with South Korean president Moon Jae-in and U.S. president Donald Trump, the first meetings between a North Korean and a U.S. head of state. Despite the brief thaw in relations, the negotiations ultimately broke down without progress on reunification of Korea or nuclear disarmament. He has claimed success in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, as the country did not report any confirmed cases until May 2022, although several independent observers have questioned this claim. In December 2023, Kim declared that North Korea formally abandoned efforts to reunify Korea. In June 2024, Kim signed a security and defense treaty with Russia. In October, Kim sent North Korean soldiers to assist Russian units in the Kursk campaign of the Russo-Ukrainian war.
