The Kim Family Tree of North Korea, Explained

North Korea is the world's only hereditary communist dynasty — power has passed from father to son across three generations of the Kim family. This guide walks through who's who, from the state's founder Kim Il-sung to today's leader Kim Jong-un, his powerful sister, and the children watching from the wings.

How to read the graph

Each circle is a person. Lines connect parents to children, and spouses or consorts to their partners. Click a node to focus on it; drag to rearrange the layout.

First generation — the founder

Kim Il-sung founded the DPRK in 1948 and ruled it for nearly half a century. His first wife, the guerrilla fighter Kim Jong-suk, bore his successor Kim Jong-il before her death in 1949; his second wife, Kim Song-ae, headed the women's union and raised the half-brothers who were later pushed aside.

Second generation — Kim Jong-il and his siblings

Kim Jong-il inherited his father's cult of personality and ruled for 17 years. His private life was tangled: an official wife, Kim Young-sook, plus the consorts Song Hye-rim, Ko Yong-hui, and Kim Ok, who between them mothered his children. His sister Kim Kyong-hui and her husband Jang Song-thaek formed the regime's inner circle — until Jang's public execution in 2013.

Third generation — Kim Jong-un and his siblings

Kim Jong-un took power on his father's death in 2011, beating out his elder half-brother Kim Jong-nam — later assassinated in Malaysia — and his quiet older brother Kim Jong-chul. With his wife Ri Sol-ju he has at least three children, while his sister Kim Yo-jong has become the most prominent woman in the regime.

A century in dates

Generation by generation

From the founder to the grandchildren

The line of succession runs straight down the male heirs: from founder Kim Il-sung, through Kim Jong-il, to Kim Jong-un — and now to a fourth-generation child being paraded at state events.