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15 Little-Known Facts About North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un
From a secret Swiss schoolboy alias and a captured U.S. Navy spy ship to a 360-foot nuclear bunker subway—inside the bizarre, secretive world of North Korea's supreme leader.
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15. He Secretly Attended This Public School In Switzerland
Before inheriting control of North Korea, Kim Jong Un spent the late 1990s living in disguise in Köniz, near Bern, Switzerland. Enrolled at the Liebefeld-Steinhölzli public school (pictured) as 'Pak Un,' he wore Nike sneakers, struggled with German, and spent hours drawing Michael Jordan.
14. His Wife Ri Sol Ju Was Kept Secret From The Public
While his father never introduced his wives to the public, Kim Jong Un surprised observers in 2012 by appearing at concerts beside a mystery woman. State television soon revealed she was his wife, First Lady Ri Sol Ju (pictured left beside Kim)—a former Unhasu Orchestra singer he reportedly wed in 2009.
13. His Father And Grandfather Lie Embalmed In Kumsusan Palace
Known as the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun (pictured), this colossal marble mausoleum in Pyongyang serves as the sacred shrine of the Kim dynasty. Visitors pass through full-body dust blowers before bowing three times before the embalmed bodies of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.
12. He Ordered A Bronze Parka Makeover For This 72-Foot Statue
Towering over central Pyongyang at the Mansudae Grand Monument, these twin 72-foot bronze statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il require every visitor to bow. Months after unveiling his father's statue in 2012, Kim Jong Un ordered sculptors to replace its formal overcoat with his dad's trademark zip-up parka.
11. Pyongyang's 105-Story Hotel Of Doom Still Has Zero Guests
Looming 1,080 feet above Pyongyang, the 105-story Ryugyong Hotel holds the Guinness World Record as the tallest unoccupied building on Earth. Though Kim Jong Un encased the concrete pyramid in glass and fitted 100,000 LEDs for night propaganda shows in 2018, its 3,000 rooms remain empty as of 2026.
10. Up To 100,000 Performers Act As Human Pixels At Mass Games
Held inside Pyongyang's 150,000-seat Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, the Arirang Mass Games are the largest choreographed spectacle on Earth. While tens of thousands of gymnasts perform on the floor, 20,000 students flip through 200-page placard books on cue—acting as 'human pixels' to render giant murals.
9. He Keeps A Captured U.S. Navy Spy Ship Moored In Pyongyang
Moored along Pyongyang's Pothong River (pictured with a North Korean guard), the USS Pueblo is a U.S. Navy intelligence ship captured in January 1968. Still listed by the U.S. Navy as an active commissioned vessel as of 2026, Kim Jong Un uses the ship as a centerpiece at Pyongyang's war museum.
8. NBA Star Dennis Rodman Was The First American He Ever Met
Obsessed with the 1990s Chicago Bulls since his school days in Switzerland, Kim Jong Un made five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman (pictured) the first American citizen to meet him face-to-face. During Rodman's 2013 visit to Pyongyang, the pair watched basketball side-by-side and sang karaoke at Kim's compound.
7. His Younger Sister Kim Yo Jong Acts As His Chief Enforcer
Having also attended school in Switzerland, Kim Yo Jong (pictured center greeting Donald Trump while her brother watches) serves as Kim Jong Un's closest confidante. At foreign summits, she swaps out host-country pens for his own sterilized pen and collects his cigarette butts to protect his DNA.
6. His 2018 Singapore Handshake Was A First For A U.S. President
On June 12, 2018, in Singapore, Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump shared the first handshake between sitting U.S. and North Korean leaders. Because Kim's Soviet-era jet was deemed unreliable, he flew on a borrowed Air China Boeing 747 while a cargo plane carried his limo and personal portable toilet.
5. He Hosted A Three-Way Summit Inside The Heavily Armed DMZ
After becoming the first North Korean leader since the 1953 armistice to step into South Korean territory in 2018, Kim Jong Un returned to the Panmunjom truce village on June 30, 2019. Joined by Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (pictured), Trump took 20 historic steps onto Northern soil.
4. Pyongyang's 360-Foot-Deep Subway Doubles As A Nuclear Bunker
Riding the escalator down into the Pyongyang Metro (pictured) takes nearly four minutes while patriotic marches play over loudspeakers. Excavated 360 feet (110 meters) underground, it is engineered with thick steel blast doors in every passageway to double as a citywide nuclear fallout shelter.
3. Regime Myth Claims His Paektu Bloodline Rules From This Volcano
In North Korean state mythology, the snow-draped caldera of Mount Paektu and Heaven Lake (pictured from orbit) are revered as the sacred cradle of the Kim dynasty. State textbooks claim Kim Jong Il was born on its slopes beneath a double rainbow—giving Kim Jong Un the 'Paektu Bloodline' mandate to rule.
2. He Toured A Russian Spaceport Launchpad With Putin For Rockets
After two failed spy satellite launches in 2023, Kim Jong Un rode his bulletproof green train into Russia's Far East to meet Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome (pictured on the launchpad gantry). Two months after Putin pledged space assistance, Pyongyang placed its Malligyong-1 satellite into orbit.
1. He Signed A 2024 Defense Pact Under Giant Pyongyang Portraits
On June 19, 2024, Kim Jong Un welcomed Vladimir Putin to Kim Il Sung Square beneath towering portraits of both leaders (pictured). Hours later, they signed a mutual defense pact pledging immediate military aid if either is attacked—soon followed by North Korean artillery and troop deployments to Russia.
