Kim Jong Un (circled) in an undated class photo at Liebefeld-Steinhölzli public school in Koeniz. Photo / Supplied
Kim Jong Un (circled) in an undated class photo at Liebefeld-Steinhölzli public school in Koeniz. Photo / Supplied
A new intelligence file on Kim Jong-un has revealed some unflattering personality insights into the North Korean dictator.
According to Axios, the file was created through numerous extensive interviews with teachers, students and other people who knew him at his prestigious Swiss boarding school.
They claim the leader of the hermit nation was prone to violence, angry outbursts and saw himself as above his peers.
Kim Jong Un (circled) in an undated class photo at Liebefeld-Steinhölzli public school in Koeniz. Photo / Supplied
"The picture that emerged from literally dozens of interviews bears a striking similarity with the man he has emerged into today," a source who spoke to Axios said. "Gluttonous, prone to fits of anger and swaggering around his classmates. Kim Jong-un was an [inattentive] student but demanded slavish loyalty from other children in his wake."
The source claimed Kim "frequently" hit other students, didn't perform well in school and was often distracted.
But perhaps the creepiest part of all was the vague declaration he would regularly make to his classmates after games: "Some day you will all remember me."
Why does this matter? Tomorrow's historic summit between Mr Kim and US President Donald Trump is considered more about a meeting of personalities, and less about formal policy discussion.
Trump has already said the Singapore meeting will be more about attitudes and personalities than anything else.
"I think I'm very well-prepared," he told reporters on Thursday. "I don't think I have to prepare very much. It's about attitude."
That said, White House officials have claimed the President has been preparing for the summit for months.
A man watches a TV screen showing file footage of U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station. Photo / AP
Last week, secretary of state Mike Pompeo told reporters they'd been discussing the upcoming meeting at nearly every daily briefing.
"I am very confident the President will be fully prepared when he meets with his North Korean counterpart," he said.
We've seen a well-documented image shift in Mr Kim over the past few months, amid thawing relations with South Korea — from the brutal dictator who threatened nuclear war to the laughing figure warmly embracing his counterpart across the peninsula.
Experts have also noted he attempts to portray himself as more "outgoing" and "relatable" compared to his father and grandfather.
But which "version" of Kim will be greeting the US President tomorrow?
WHAT DOES KIM WANT FROM TRUMP?
The North Korean leader has more to gain from the summit than Trump, and will want to play his cards right.
Some experts have argued that the biggest "prize" for the dictator is the meeting itself. North Korea has been seeking a meeting with a US president for decades — a move that signifies legitimisation of its regime and status as a country.
But there's more in it for Kim than that. The North Korean dictator's power is at stake, with increasing pressure to save his economy before it gets worse.
From the meeting, he stands to receive potential economic concessions and create a window to transform his country's financial status.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks towards Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during their bilateral meeting at the Istana or presidential palace. Photo / AP
As per his new year's speech, Kim is seeking to modernise and develop North Korea's economy, and open it up more to the world than his father or grandfather did.
He also wants the US and its allies to lift their "maximum pressure" economic sanctions on the hermit nation — relief it is expected to get in exchange for surrendering its nuclear arsenal.
Last year, Trump imposed a full trade and financial embargo, which penalised any non-US banks, companies or people that traded with North Korea, including Japan and Australia.
Right now, China accounts for 90 per cent of North Korea's trade, but even that went down more than 60 per cent in the first quarter of 2018.
STAGE SET FOR SINGAPORE SUMMIT
President Donald Trump arrived here Sunday night ahead of a potentially historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the first meeting between the leaders of two countries that have been sworn enemies for almost seven decades.
Air Force One touched down with little fanfare at Paya Lebar Air Base in Singapore, landing a few hours after Kim arrived in the island state. Trump waved as he stepped off the presidential aircraft, briefly greeted Singaporean officials on the tarmac and quickly climbed into a limousine to head to his hotel for the evening.
Asked upon his arrival how he was feeling about the summit, Trump told reporters, "Very good."
President Donald Trump arrives at Paya Lebar Air Base for a summit with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. Photo / AP
Trump and Kim are scheduled to meet face to face Tuesday morning at 9 (which is 9 p.m. Monday, Eastern time), and they will see if they can forge some kind of agreement on North Korea's nuclear program.
Trump was upbeat as he departed Canada on Saturday for his day-long journey halfway around the globe, which included a refuelling stop on the Greek island of Crete. The president told reporters he would rely on his intuition to size up Kim's intentions regarding a deal to abandon his nuclear arsenal.
"Within the first minute, I'll know," he said. "My touch, my feel - that's what I do."
Kim and Trump are to meet at the Capella hotel on the resort island of Sentosa, usually better known as the site of Singapore's Universal Studios amusement park.
Singapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, welcomed Kim and his entourage to the Istana, his palatial office, for talks laying the groundwork for Tuesday's summit. Trump is due to meet with Lee on Monday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana or presidential palace. Photo / AP
"From our point of view, it's important that the meeting take place and that the meeting sets developments on a new trajectory - one that will be conducive to the security and stability of the region," Lee told reporters here.
Video broadcast by the prime minister's office showed Kim and Lee shaking hands and posing for photos. Kim could then be seen introducing Lee to his senior officials, while his sister and close aide, Kim Yo Jong, could be seen in the background.
The North Korean leader landed at Singapore's Changi Airport shortly before 3 p.m. Sunday and traveled in his armoured Mercedes-Benz limousine through one of the island state's swankiest shopping districts to the five-star St. Regis hotel.
Police officers stand guard as they wait for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's motorcade at the Istana, or Presidential Palace, in Singapore. Photo / AP
The streets were lined with tourists and journalists trying to catch a glimpse of the enigmatic North Korean leader, who has embarked on his farthest journey - and the journey with the highest stakes - since taking power at the end of 2011.
The summit would focus on "establishing new relations" between North Korea and the United States, as well as "building a permanent and durable peacekeeping mechanism on the Korean Peninsula, the issue of realising the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and other issues of mutual concern," the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
