Kim Jong-un’s rule started nine years ago after his father Kim Jong-il died from a heart attack. He was chosen to continue his family’s dynasty after proving himself to be a “chip off the old block” and “extremely competitive”. The dictator has continued the state’s secretive tradition of excluding the outside world from knowing a lot about their regime. This extreme isolation and privacy has meant that even the year Kim Jong-un was born in is still debated. It’s not known how many children he has, their ages or their sex, along with a bulging catalogue of other mysteries. When the leader rose to power in North Korea he faced a difficult task, proving himself worthy to the people of North Korea. He did so with a brutal campaign of violence, which in part, was detailed to Express.co.uk.
When Kim Jong-un ascended in 2011, there were many among his inner circle of government officials and some in the public who doubted him.
One factor for their doubts was his age, between 27 and 29, coupled with there being little known about the new leader.
North Korea expert Chris Mikul told Express.co.uk: “He had never been seen in public and not known about until two years before his father’s death.
“They had to undergo a very rapid change and wrap their heads around there being a new god in town.
“Everyone thought when Kim Jong-un took over that he would be a figurehead and older officials would be in charge but he proved himself a pretty tough guy when he consolidated his rule.”
To do this and discourage others from trying to overthrow him, he executed 340 people within his first five years, the Institute for National Security Strategy reported.
They included 140 who were senior government officials – one of whom was his uncle-in-law Jang Song-thaek, the vice-chairman of the National Defence Commission.
His “extreme” level of brutality was exhibited during these killings, which allegedly took place before other generals and officials.
A number of theories about Song-thaek’s death later emerged, including that he was stripped naked and eaten alive by starving dogs or that he was decimated by an anti-aircraft gun – the true story is unknown.
Chris Mikul, who penned ‘My Favourite Dictators’ last year, claimed that Kim Jong-un’s relative was presumed to be the brains behind the leader before he was killed.
He told Express.co.uk: “It was thought he would be the head man and Kim Jong-un was just too inexperienced to take over.
“A couple of years after he took over, he had him executed along with all his family.
“If you are considered a traitor not only will you be killed but your parents would be killed, grandchildren, cousins – they wipe out the entire family.
“Kim Jong-un can be as tough as necessary when the time comes and he has had various other people killed to consolidate his power.”
Mr Mukul admitted that while Kim Jong-un and his father remain “brutal dictators” there were some rare occasions when they showed a slightly “more human side”.
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This included Kim Il-sung making a joke about being short and the current leader mocking his own weight in bizarre moments of self-deprecation.
Mr Mikul added: “They don’t operate like other dictators, they are another level and are hard to put your finger on sometimes.
“It’s like they realise that this edifice built up, which was based on Kim Il-sung (the state’s founder) being a god and saviour, is a lie.
“I’m sure they know the truth and it’s just they are opening up a little crack into their own psyche’s by doing things like that.
“It’s never enough to jeopardise their power but in little moments they seem to be human rather than monsters.
“It’s not something you see in other dictators, most are impervious to self-deprecation or inflection.”
Chris Mikul’s ‘My Favourite Dictators’ was published by Headpress in 2019, it is available here.