North Korea’s Kim Jong Un turns 40. Maybe
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Mr Kim Jong Un's birthday is believed to be Jan 8, though his secretive regime has never confirmed the date.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is believed to have turned the big four-oh on Jan 8, but state media continued its decades of silence on his birthday.
Mr Kim's birthday is believed to be Jan 8, though his secretive regime has never confirmed the date. The United States government lists Mr Kim's birth year as 1984, making him 40 years old in 2024.
The birth dates of Mr Kim's father and grandfather, who preceded him as rulers, are national holidays in the authoritarian state.
Mr Kim Jong Un's presumed birth date, meanwhile, has always passed quietly without mention in media or on the country's calendars.
The closest North Korea has come to confirming the date came in January 2020 after the authorities acknowledged Mr Kim had received birthday greetings
In 2024, state news agency KCNA on Jan 8 showed Mr Kim visiting a chicken farm with his daughter and senior officials.
South Korea’s intelligence agency said in January it believes the daughter, known as Ju-ae, may be a likely successor.
Mr Kim's government is heavily sanctioned over the country's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, as well as human rights abuses. REUTERS
