15 Secrets From “Rocket Man” Kim Jong Un’s Inner Circle

Asia

13. He Threw His Uncle Into A Cage Of Hungry Dogs

As the story goes, Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, had a brother, Jang Song Thaek, who was not too pleased that a short, fat, bratty, not-even-30-year-old took over the dictatorship upon Il’s death. So, he tried to overthrow the state. Kim Jong Un caught word of the coup attempt. If that happened in the United States, the president would probably tweet that his uncle is a “loser” and give him a humiliating nickname. But this is North Korea, so Kim Jong Un reacted even more impulsively. Legend has it that he sentenced his uncle to an execution, then carried it out by stripping him naked and heaving his body into a cage of dogs that hadn’t been fed for days.

12. His Ridiculous Haircut Is Popular In North Korea By Law!

When I was a senior in high school, a gym buddy told me about a place where I could get a $6 haircut. That’s right about when I learned the truth of the old adage that you get what you pay for. The end result looked like Mr. Potato Head—a tuft of hair on the top, completely shaved on the sides and back, and no attempt whatsoever to blend the two parts. In other words, it looked a lot like the ‘do that Kim Jong Un has been sporting his entire time as dictator. But whereas I had to deal with the fallout at school–and right in the thick of prom season, too–Kim Jong Un simply made it the law for his haircut to be cool by forcing male college students to trim their manes the same way.

11. He Is A Four-Star General But Has No Military Experience

Remember how nuts everyone went when Donald Trump said he knew more than the generals on the ground? Or, perhaps worse, when he responded to a question on who he consults with about foreign policy matters by saying, “Mainly myself. I have a very good brain.” He got completely crushed in the media, with many pundits correctly pointing out that the president has not served a day in the armed forces unless you count the military-style high school he attended (which you shouldn’t count). Too bad for President Trump, this isn’t North Korea. If it were, he could just declare himself a general, and even give himself four stars while he’s at it. Kim Jong Un, despite his lack of military experience, holds that exact title in his country.

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