It has been hinted at previously, with North Korean officials thanking then US President Donald Trump for his birthday wishes back in January 2020 - although they did not specify which day.
Further evidence of the date had emerged six years earlier, when US basketball player Dennis Rodman sang happy birthday to Kim Jong Un in front of a crowd of thousands.
Gilsup Kwak, head of One Korea Center, a website specialising in North Korean affairs, suggests a number of reasons for the silence - not least, his mother Ko Yong Hui, and the fact she was reportedly born in Japan.
There is still widespread distrust of Japan - which colonised the region between 1910 and 1945 - in North Korean society, and the link could undermine Kim Jong Un’s bloodline claims, meaning it has so far been swept under the carpet.
However, there could be numerous other explanations, he says, including believing “that idolising his ancestors and family is enough” and wanting to “promote his image as a humble leader”.
Experts say that older members of North Korea’s ruling elite feel he is still too young - although it is notable that his father’s birthday became an official holiday the year he turned 40.
The original article contains 368 words, the summary contains 205 words. Saved 44%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
It has been hinted at previously, with North Korean officials thanking then US President Donald Trump for his birthday wishes back in January 2020 - although they did not specify which day.
Further evidence of the date had emerged six years earlier, when US basketball player Dennis Rodman sang happy birthday to Kim Jong Un in front of a crowd of thousands.
Gilsup Kwak, head of One Korea Center, a website specialising in North Korean affairs, suggests a number of reasons for the silence - not least, his mother Ko Yong Hui, and the fact she was reportedly born in Japan.
There is still widespread distrust of Japan - which colonised the region between 1910 and 1945 - in North Korean society, and the link could undermine Kim Jong Un’s bloodline claims, meaning it has so far been swept under the carpet.
However, there could be numerous other explanations, he says, including believing “that idolising his ancestors and family is enough” and wanting to “promote his image as a humble leader”.
Experts say that older members of North Korea’s ruling elite feel he is still too young - although it is notable that his father’s birthday became an official holiday the year he turned 40.
The original article contains 368 words, the summary contains 205 words. Saved 44%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!