Kim Jong Un Quotes: 10 Provocative Things North Korea's Dictatorial Leader Said

Kim Jong Un, the chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea and supreme leader of North Korea since 2011, will be celebrating his 34th birthday Monday.

However, according to a report in the Telegraph, there won’t be any fanfare on the day this year. There could be several reasons behind the step, one being the backlash over tough economic sanctions, while the other being the efforts orchestrated by his sister, Kim Yo Jong, to mold his image as a benevolent leader.

Kim’s age has also been kind of a mystery and was never been officially acknowledged. However, his age was confirmed by his aunt Ko Yong Suk who recalled, in an interview with the Washington Post, changing his nappies as a baby.

Here are some quotes by the North Korean leader, which provide an insight into his cult personality.

1. Why would I strike America and invite a retaliatory counterstrike that would put an end to my regime? Keep in mind, the whole point of this - my entire strategy, all our efforts and the hardships we have borne - is to ensure that my regime and I survive. Why would I risk that? I believe in assassination, not suicide.

2. The days are gone forever when our enemies could blackmail us with nuclear bombs.

3. I heard that senior officials in China and the United States were discussing whether to encourage a coup in North Korea to get a more pliable ruler. So I've taken steps to ensure that this can't happen. The man in our government closest to the Chinese, who could have arranged such a coup attempt, was my uncle. The man who would have been my natural replacement was my half-brother. Both have been liquidated, as have more than 100 disloyal high-level officials.

4. My nation faces a fundamental challenge - survival. The regime is more threatened than ever before. My forefathers had it easy. The Great Leader, my grandfather, ruled with the support of the world's other superpower at the time, the Soviet Union, as well as our China. But today, the Soviet Union is history and China has become more integrated with the Western system. And the United States seeks regime change in my country. And yet, we have survived with our ideology and system intact. How? Because we have built a protection for ourselves in the form of nuclear weapons.

5. The military might of a country represents its national strength. Only when it builds up its military might in every way can it develop into a thriving country.

6. The revolution is carried out by means of one's thought.

7. Want to know what’s more destructive than a nuclear bomb? Words.

8. Compared to 10 years ago the primary motivation for defection has gone from food to freedom.

9. Past records of inter-Korean relations show that confrontation between fellow countrymen leads to nothing but war.

10. The industrial revolution in the new century is, in essence, a scientific and technological revolution, and breaking through the cutting edge is a shortcut to the building of an economic giant.