Kim Jong-un’s former classmates struggle to reconcile their memories of the “good friend” who was obsessed with basketball with the North Korean dictator.
According to friends he made while studying at a German-speaking public school near Bern, Switzerland, the head of the rogue state had a good sense of humour and an impressive collection of Nike trainers.
“He was a good friend,” Joao Micaelo, who now works as a chef at a restaurant in Bern, told The Daily Beast.
“We had a lot of fun together. He was a good guy. Lots of kids liked him. I don’t know anything about his life today. All I know is the guy I knew in school.
“He loved basketball. We played a lot together. I’d like to say to him, if you ever have the time, please contact me again so we can catch up.”
Dennis Rodman sings Kim Jong-un Happy Birthday on 8 January- the date widely believed to be the North Korean leader’s birthday.
At school, he was called “Pak Un” and described as the son of an employee at the North Korean embassy.
The future North Korean despot was said to be especially enthusiastic about the Chicago Bulls and a good basketball player, despite being only 5ft 6in tall and slightly overweight.
“He was funny,” another former classmate, Marco Imhof, told the news site. “Always good for a laugh. He also hated to lose. Winning was very important.”
Other classmates agreed. “He had a sense of humor and got on well with everyone, even those pupils who came from countries who were enemies of North Korea,” one told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
“Politics was a taboo subject at school... we would argue about football, not politics.”
A former bodyguard for his now-deceased father, Kim Jong-il, said an isolated childhood left Kim Jong-un “stressed” and “explosive.”
“He was stressed and had no one to play with his own age,” Lee Young-guk told ABC News. “There were only adults, who educated and played with him.”
Mr Lee, who was one of the elder Kim’s bodyguards for 11 years, said: “His personality was explosive. When he was angry, he acted without considering the consequences.”
He added: “He was quick-tempered. He doesn’t care about what others think. He doesn’t feel sorry for other people. He does whatever he wants. He would yell at the ladies. He was like that.”
