Kim Jong Un Is 32 Today ... Maybe

Or 31 or 33, or something like that
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 8, 2015 10:27 AM CST
Kim Jong Un Is 32 Today ... Maybe
In this April 9, 2014, image made from video, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claps during the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang, North Korea.   (AP Photo/KRT via AP Video)

In case you've somehow managed to erase this detail from memory, USA Today reminds us that exactly one year ago, Dennis Rodman was singing "Happy Birthday" to "best friend" Kim Jong Un. Today is indeed believed to be the North Korean leader's birthday, but it's unclear whether he's 31, 32, or 33. Kim's birth year, per the South Korean government, was likely 1982, 1983, or 1984. And while Yonhap reports that China sent him birthday wishes, USA Today notes there is no elaborate public celebration to mark the day, as was the case with his father's and grandfather's birthdays.

"There's a lot of speculation why that's the case," a South Korean professor tells CNN. "Kim could be trying to put out this image as a humble guy," or he could just be trying to downplay the fact that he's young. "When you start marking his birthday, then the whole North Korean people will start to wonder, then what's his age?" USA Today speculates that when his age is finally revealed, 1982 will be the year named, perhaps regardless of whether that's the truth: His grandfather was born in 1912, and his father 30 years later. Forty years after that is ... 1982. (Meanwhile, Kim's eyebrows are shrinking.)

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