Kim Jong-Un summary

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Kim Jong-Un.

Kim Jong-Un, or Kim Jong-Eun, (born Jan. 8, 1983?, North Korea), North Korean leader (2011– ), the youngest son of Kim Jong Il. In 2009, amid speculation that he was to be his father’s successor, Kim Jong-Un was given a post on the powerful National Defense Commission and was reportedly named head of the State Security Department. In 2010 he was made a four-star general. After his father’s death in 2011, Kim Jong-Un was declared the country’s supreme leader. In 2012 he was also named first secretary of the Korean Workers’ Party, chairman of the Central Military Commission, and chairman of the National Defense Commission.

Kim Il-Sung Summary

Kim Il-Sung was the communist leader of North Korea from 1948 until his death in 1994. He was the country’s premier from 1948 to 1972, chairman of its dominant Korean Workers’ Party from 1949, and president and head of state from 1972. Kim was the son of parents who fled to Manchuria during his

Kim Jong Il Summary

Kim Jong Il was the ruler of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He succeeded his father, Kim Il-Sung, who became the first premier of the newly formed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1948 and remained its leader until his death in 1994. The official North Korean version of Kim Jong Il’s life

communism Summary

Communism, political and economic doctrine that aims to replace private property and a profit-based economy with public ownership and communal control of at least the major means of production (e.g., mines, mills, and factories) and the natural resources of a society. Communism is thus a form of

government Summary

Government, the political system by which a country or community is administered and regulated. Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy—are of Greek or Roman origin. They have been current for more than 2,000 years and have not