Kim Jong-un's Quiet '40th Birthday' Reason... "Due to Birth Mother and Age"

BBC Focuses on Quietness of Kim Jong-un's Birthday
"To Avoid Highlighting Japanese-born Biological Mother and Young Age"

North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un is presumed to have turned 40 years old on the 8th, but the British BBC broadcast highlighted the reason why North Korean authorities do not disclose Kim's birthday and age, quietly passing it every year.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 9th (local time), the BBC reported that Kim Jong-un, Chairman of North Korea's State Affairs Commission, is presumed to have turned 40 on the 8th, but it has not been officially confirmed.

Kim is known to have been born on January 8, 1984, but this has never been officially confirmed. However, the BBC noted that January 8 is presumed to be his birthday based on the fact that in January 2014, former NBA player Dennis Rodman visited Pyongyang and sang a birthday song for Kim Jong-un in front of a crowd gathered at a gymnasium to watch a basketball game, and that in January 2020, then U.S. President Donald Trump sent a birthday message to Kim.

North Korea commemorates the birthdays of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il as the Day of the Sun (April 15) and the Day of the Shining Star (February 16), respectively. Kim Jong-il's birthday was designated a public holiday in 1982 when he turned 40. In contrast, there have been no commemorative events for Kim Jong-un's birthday, nor has it been mentioned in state media. This year as well, only news of his daughter Ju-ae and a local inspection of the Kwangcheon Chicken Factory on the 7th was reported, with no mention of his birthday.

The BBC analyzed that the reason North Korean authorities do not mention Kim's birthday is to avoid highlighting the fact that his biological mother, Ko Yong-hui, was a repatriated Korean resident from Japan, and his relatively young age.

Kwok Gil-seop, director of the One Korea Center and an expert on North Korea, told the BBC, "Kim Jong-un's Achilles' heel is the truth about his birth," and speculated that the fact that Kim's biological mother Ko Yong-hui was born in Japan is a reason why North Korean authorities remain silent about Kim's birthday. The BBC pointed out, "Because Kim Jong-un's Baekdu bloodline image could be damaged, celebrating his birthday would attract unwanted attention."

Additionally, the BBC reported that another reason his birthday remains undisclosed is that among the older North Korean ruling class, Kim is still perceived as young.