As the outcome of the Hanoi Nuclear summit participated in by United States President Donald Trump and North Korea military leader Kim Jong Un is yet to be disclosed, attention has been directed toward the latter and his personal life, including his ability to speak English.
In the lull before the summit outcomes are announced, much ado about Kim Jong Un's English speaking abilities seems to have surfaced. Interest has been sparked regarding the details of his personal life, but very little information seems to be available.
It turns out, the North Korean leader has had international schooling in Koeniz, Switzerland. He went to a German-speaking educational institution. There he studied English, German, and French. From 1998 to 2000, he stayed at his Swiss boarding school, to complete his international education.
He reportedly had difficulties keeping up academically because he did not speak German very well. As to his English education, the dictator was said to have merely passed the subject. It may point to the possibility that he is poor in languages but have the basic ability to understand and speak it, although this cannot be confirmed.
And one might ask how it was that Kim and Dennis Rodman, a famous figure in the United States National Basketball Association, who has visited the leader more than once in his home country, were able to communicate when neither one supposedly spoke the other's language?
One thing that seems to be widely known about Kim is his love for the sport, basketball. That in itself would allow a person to surpass hurdles in communication.
Rodman said in an interview that he believed the North Korean leader was able to understand "bits and pieces," especially if it was about basketball.
No one has asked though whether President Trump understands North Korean, in the same way, that Kim Jong Un is being scrutinized about his English abilities. Apparently, the inability to understand and speak the language of the person across the negotiating table is a shortcoming both leaders share.
For Trump and Kim, each has come to the summit with their own interpreter who is always at hand to make sure that the points discussed are understood and to convey as well the feelings and thoughts, opinions or objections to each other.
For those keen to learn more about Mr. Kim, the military leader is 35 years old. He is married to Ri Sol-Ju, who is 29, a graduate of the Kim II Sung University. She is related in some way to Ri Pyong Chol, who was a top man of the Korean People's Army. The couple supposedly has three children, although this is not confirmed.
The North Korean leader's net worth is said to be between seven and eight billion dollars according to United Nations data, distributed among 200 or so bank accounts internationally.
Apparently, wealth is another thing he has in common with Trump.
