Kim Jong-Eun

North Korean political official
Kim Jong-EunNorth Korean political official
Also known as
  • Kim Jong Woon
  • Kim Jong Un


Korea, North

Kim Jong-Eun, also spelled Kim Jong Un   (born January 8, 1983?North Korea), North Korean political official who succeeded his father, Kim Jong Il, as leader of North Korea (2011– ).


Rumours began to circulate early in 2009 that he was being groomed as his father’s eventual successor. He was listed as a candidate for the Supreme People’s Assembly in 2009, and that April he was given a post on the powerful National Defense Commission (NDC); the chairmanship of the NDC, defined in the constitution as the country’s highest office, was held by Kim Jong Il. By mid-2009 Kim Jong-Eun was being referred to within the country by the title “Brilliant Comrade,” and in June it was reported that he had been named head of the State Security Department, the government agency responsible for political control and counterintelligence. In September 2010 Kim Jong-Eun was given the high rank of four-star general, even though he was not known to have had any previous military experience. The timing of his appointment was considered significant, as it came shortly before the first general meeting of the KWP since the session in 1980 at which his father had been named Kim Il-Sung’s successor. Over the next year his position as successor appeared to become more solidified. After the death of his father in December 2011, Kim Jong-Eun was declared the country’s supreme leader, an unofficial title that nonetheless signaled his position as the head of both the government and North Korea’s military forces. In April 2012 his status was validated by the acquisition of several official titles: first secretary of the Korean Workers’ Party, chairman of the Central Military Commission, and chairman of the National Defense Commission.

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