Three Versions of North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un's Birth Year

The exact age of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un remains a closely guarded secret. The official North Korean account and the assessments of the United States and South Korea differ on his birth year, according to Wionews, as cited by Latvian newspaper Latvijas Avīze.

Three different years

North Korean authorities and state media claim Kim was born on 8 January 1982. The year carries symbolic weight because it coincides with the 70th birthday of his grandfather, Kim Il Sung.

Analysts in Seoul, the South Korean capital, reject Pyongyang's official chronology. South Korean intelligence representatives insist the leader was born in 1983. This may suggest the regime changed the date to artificially boost his political authority.

The US government officially lists 1984, which would make Kim several years younger than state propaganda claims. This version is largely supported by physical evidence from Europe: when Kim secretly studied in Switzerland as a teenager, he travelled on a diplomatic passport that showed 1984 as his birth year.

Agreement on the birthday

Intelligence services of various countries agree that Kim's birthday is 8 January, although he often declines the lavish celebrations held for his predecessors.

The publication stresses that altering birth dates is a standard propaganda technique of the ruling Kim dynasty. By declaring 1982, Pyongyang linked the young leader to the sacred birth year of the country's founder, 1912.

Health rumours

Rumours recently emerged that Kim may have fallen into a coma after a brain haemorrhage. The British tabloid The Sun, citing information online, reported that the leader was rushed to a hospital in China after severe bleeding. The poor state of medical care in Pyongyang was cited as a possible reason. Kim was last seen in public on 11 October, during a visit to a defence museum in Pyongyang.