What the few who have met Kim say about him

The young Kim knew all about the hostility between his homeland and Fujimoto's, from decades of Japanese colonial rule, says A Japanese sushi chef

He was treated like a petulant prince as a child. He forgave the family’s sushi chef for disloyalty. He loved basketball and owned many pairs of Nikes as a student in Switzerland.

 

The details are among the few known about the reclusive North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, 34, who met with South Korean officials for the first time this week — and may meet with President Trump in the next two months.

 

Kim remains an enigma. He is thought to have ordered the executions of disloyal subordinates including his own uncle. But a handful of acquaintances including former school friends and family members who defected to the West have offered details of his life that also suggest a more forgiving personality.

 

A Japanese sushi chef who worked for years for the North Korean leader’s father, Kim Jong-il, has turned out to be one of the most valuable sources of information about Kim Jong-un. Though much of the time they spent together was during Kim’s childhood, a more recent meeting offered key insights.

 

The chef, who goes by the pseudonym Kenji Fujimoto, described working for the Kim family in two books. The young Kim knew all about the hostility between his homeland and Fujimoto’s, from decades of Japanese colonial rule. “When Prince Jong-un shook hands with me, he fixed me with a vicious look,” Fujimoto wrote in a 2003 memoir describing his first encounter with Kim, then 7, who was dressed in a military uniform and called “prince” by his father’s aides. “I still cannot forget the look in his eyes. It seemed to say: ‘This is a despicable Japanese.’” ©2018 The New York Times News Service