North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives field guidance to Pyongyang Orphans' Primary School, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency Feb. 2, 2017.REUTERS/KCNA
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is once again making headlines — this time for his step-brother Kim Jong Nam’s death due to alleged poisoning in Malaysia on Feb. 13. It is being speculated that the North Korean leader is behind the killing of Kim Jong Nam.
The North Korean leader's personal life is shrouded in mystery because of the country’s secretive nature. However, what the world knows is that Kim Jong Un is North Korea’s dictator, and that he has purged several of the country's top officials, including his uncle Jang Sung-taek. He assumed power a few days after his father Kim Jong Il died in December 2011 due to ill-health.
Following are the 20 little known facts about Kim Jong Un:
Kim’s real birth date is a mystery. While his official birth year in 1982, the U.S. Treasury Department — after imposing sanctions on North Korea last July — officially identified his date of birth as Jan. 8, 1984.
Kim is the world’s youngest leader, if we go by the birth date listed by the U.S. Treasury Department.
Reports suggest that Kim attended a boarding school in Switzerland between 1998 and 2000. He is reported to have been enrolled in the school under the name “Pak Un.”
Kim was reportedly caught with a porn magazine in his school days.
The young North Korean leader was reportedly a fan of Chinese actor Jackie Chan in his school days.
He is also a fan of the NBA, with Kobe Bryant, Toni Kukoc, Michael Jordan and LA Lakers being his favorites. In 2013, former NBA star Dennis Rodman gained international attention for meeting Kim during his trip to North Korea.
Kim is reportedly the only general in the world without any military experience.
In a bid to rebrand North Korea, Kim had initially endorsed food such as like pizza, French fries and hamburgers. The country’s first pizzeria was reportedly opened in 2009 during his father’s rule.
In 2012, satire news website the Onion named Kim as “Sexiest Man Alive” for the year.
Kim reportedly likes smoking Yves Saint Laurent cigarettes and guzzling down Johnny Walker whisky.
Kim reportedly owned a Mercedes 600 sedan and once liked South Korean pop music, the Super Mario Brothers and Tetris computer games.
In 2010, Kim’s birthday was declared a national holiday.
Kim’s haircut is popular among North Koreans, and is reportedly known as "ambition" cut. Reports suggested that male students in the country were asked to get a similar haircut as their leader’s.
After his father’s death, Kim allegedly jailed the country’s top official Kim Choi for “insufficient grieving” over Kim Jong Il’s passing away.
Kim is reported to have gone from 198 pounds in 2012 to 286 pounds in 2016.
He is believed to be binge-eating and drinking to deal with fears of assassination and insomnia.
Last year, Kim reportedly banned weddings, funerals and freedom of movement in North Korea during the ruling party’s first gathering in 36 years.
Kim reportedly handpicked singers to form the reclusive country’s first all-female music group, Moranbong Band, which made their debut in 2012.
In 2012, an 1,800-feet message praising Kim was reportedly carved into a hillside in North Korea. The message read: "Long Live General, the Shining Sun!"
