The craziest and most outrageous Kim Jong Un facts and rumors
North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un may be a nuclear-armed despot who torments his people — but he’s also one of the most bizarre leaders in the world.
The portly dictator, once dubbed “Rocket Man” by President Trump, may have a penchant for launching missiles at his neighbors, but he also loves Disney songs, allegedly has his own harem and even reportedly had a guy killed with an anti-aircraft gun.
He remains a world figure as mysterious as he is controversial: No one even knows his real age, which is somewhere between 35 and 37.
Here are some Kim Jong Un facts and outrageous claims from over the years:
Family ties
When his father, Kim Jong Il, died in 2011, he made sure mourning was mandatory. He ordered those who were caught blowing off remembrance events to be sent to labor camps for up to six months. The third Kim to hold power in North Korea, he reportedly had plastic surgery at age 27 to look more like his grandfather, who founded the republic.
Hair-raising
His trademark haircut is reportedly one of 28 approved cuts for men in North Korea, and even has a name — Ambitious. It was reportedly a shout-out to his grandfather, Kim Il Sung. However, a news report from 2017, when only 15 hairstyles supposedly were approved, said Kim’s flat-top ‘do was off-limits to commoners.
Lover boy
Even Kim’s love life is shrouded in mystery. He reportedly married 23-year-old former cheerleader Ri Sol Ju in 2009, but the match wasn’t made public until 2012. He was also rumored to be romantically involved with pop star Hyon Song-wol, whose hit songs included “I Love Pyongyang” — apparently a quick way to the dictator’s heart. Though Ri Sol Ju has appeared in public with Kim in recent years, she wields little political power in the Hermit Kingdom.
Dog-gone it
In 2020, he ordered all pet dogs to be confiscated in the capital of Pyongyang, saying the pooches represent Western “decadence” — but their owners feared their Fidos were really just headed for someone’s dinner table amid a food crisis.
Father knows best
He keeps his kids under wraps. The North Korean leader has had at least three children since 2010. But while his first is believed to be a boy named Kim Ju-ae, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service has been unable to determine the gender, let alone the names, of his other kids.
Brotherly love
Kim hasn’t been shy about taking out his family — including his brother — to keep his hold on power. His oldest half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, was deemed too Western to take over the country and lived in exile for years. He was killed in a cloak-and-dagger hit at a Malaysian airport in 2017, when two women walked up to him and brushed a liquid on his face, which turned out to be a deadly chemical nerve agent. The well-planned assassination reportedly was carried out on Kim’s orders.
The dictator’s second-oldest half-brother, Kim Jong Chul, was also passed over. Kim’s father’s former personal chef told Newsweek in 2018 that Jong Chul was “no good because he is like a little girl.” A South Korean intelligence worker told the news outlet that he suffered from “an excess of female hormones.”
Booze and girls
Kim reportedly keeps a “Pleasure Squad” of girls as young as 13, who are sometimes plucked from classrooms and undergo a battery of tests to confirm they’re virgins. In 2016 alone, he spent $3.5 million on lingerie and costumes for his harem, while also spending lavishly on booze and fine foods — and is especially fond of cheese.
His appetites, including a love of cognac, wine and Emmental cheese, are a remnant from his days as a student in Switzerland. His gorging has him tipping the scales at roughly 320 pounds.
The music man
The Supreme Leader has his own hand-picked all-girl pop band, the Moranbong Band. The group debuted in 2012 and hit it big with catchy tunes like “Do Prosper, Era of the Workers’ Party.” Kim also has a soft spot for Disney. In 2012, he was seen on state-run television fawning over a musical featuring costumed versions of Tigger and Minnie Mouse — with animated classics like “Dumbo” and “Snow White” playing on a screen in the background.
Hoops and Rodman
Kim has a well-documented love of basketball, although he’s more adept at Playstation than the hardwood. For years he has had a bizarre friendship with controversial former NBA star Dennis Rodman, with whom he remains close. The tattooed and heavily pierced ex-hoopster has visited the peninsula on several occasions, including a highly publicized 2017 trip when Rodman helped secure the release of American prisoner Otto Warmbier.
Rodman has described the reclusive despot as “a big kid” who just wants to have fun.
Kim the executioner
The North Korean strongman’s brutal elimination of rivals — or perceived rivals — is no game. In 2012, he is rumored to have had a former army vice minister killed with a mortar round for drinking and partying after Kim’s father’s death. His uncle, Jang Song Thaek, reportedly was stripped naked and fed to 120 starving dogs in 2013. The following year, he had a deputy minister “executed by flame-thrower,” and the year after that, had another minister killed by an anti-aircraft gun at a shooting range in front of hundreds of spectators.
No sense of humor
Despite his outrageous escapades, Kim is ultra-sensitive about his image. He was particularly steamed in 2014 when Sony Pictures announced “The Interview,” a comedy flick that poked fun at the plump dictator. Seth Rogen and James Franco portrayed two TV news personalities enlisted by the CIA to assassinate Kim. He was not amused and is believed to have ordered a subsequent cyberattack targeting Sony, which backed down and never released the film.
Kim missing
Before his disappearing act in April, the North Korean ruler dropped out of sight in 2014, sparking rumors that he had been taken out by a military coup. He emerged after six weeks, totally fine, and was said by state media to have been recovering from surgery.
One rumor has it that Kim is currently lounging on a yacht in his beachfront resort in Wonsan, while the world wonders where the heck he is.