A/HRC/25/CRP.1 occurred without any formal democratic process or effective engagement with the people of the DPRK. 150. Kim Jong-un is believed to have been born on 8 January 1983 or 1984. He was thus under 30 years of age at the time he succeeded to the highest political, executive and military power in the DPRK as the Supreme Leader. He has been endeavouring to consolidate his authority. In the weeks after Kim Jong-il’s death in 2011, Kim Jong-un was given the title of “Supreme Commander” of the major military organizations. Official statements from various state organs referred to him as the nation’s “sole national leader”. 151. In early 2012, the DPRK announced it would suspend nuclear tests and allow international inspectors to monitor the moratorium in exchange for food aid from the United States. In April 2012, however, the DPRK launched an advanced missile, the Unha3, which failed. The United States still cancelled planned food aid. 152. In the same month, Kim Jong-un consolidated his power by taking on the posts of the First Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the Chairman of the Central Military’s Commission, as well as First Chairman of the National Defence Commission.106 He filled with his own appointees the top jobs at the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces, the General Political Bureau and General Staff of the Korean People’s Army. He further consolidated his hold over the military in July 2012 by retiring the head of the army, promoting a previously little known general in his place, and assuming for the first time the rank of marshal. 153. In December 2012, the DPRK launched a rocket putting its first satellite into orbit. Many analysts argued this was a cover to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Security Council condemned the launch as a violation of resolutions barring testing of technology used for ballistic missiles, and adopted tightened sanctions against the country. The DPRK conducted its third nuclear test in February 2013 and seeks recognition as a nuclear state from the international community.107 154. After assuming supreme power in the DPRK, Kim Jong-un expressed his desire to revive the country's economy. On 31 March 2013, Kim Jong-un announced the “Dual Policy of Economic Construction and Nuclear Arsenal Expansion” which seemed to add improving the economy to the priority of the development of the DPRK’s nuclear arsenal. He subsequently continued to add the slogan of “improving the lives of our people” to his public statements. In November 2013, the plan to establish 14 special economic zones to attract more foreign investment was announced. 155. The Commission has met with credible international sources who have remarked on increased signs of prosperity in Pyongyang in the past couple of years. They cite the increased use of mobile phones in the DPRK (albeit without international access), believed 106 107 42 In a tradition set by his father, Kim Jong-il retains his former titles of Secretary-General of the Workers’ Party of Korea and Chairman of the National Defence Commission after his death. On 12 February 2013, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK addressed the President of the Security Council: “The DPRK’s nuclear test is a just step for self-defence and is not contradictory to any international law. The U.S. has long put the DPRK on the list for pre-emptive nuclear strikes. It is a quite natural, just measure for self-defence to react to the ever increasing nuclear threat of the U.S. with nuclear deterrence. The DPRK withdrew from the Treaty on the NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons after going through legitimate procedures and chose the way of having access to nuclear deterrence for self-defence to protect the supreme interests of the country. There have been on the Earth more than 2,000 nuclear tests and at least 9,000 satellite launches in the history of the United Nations, spanning over 60 years, but there has never been a Security Council resolution on banning any nuclear test or satellite launch” (S/2013/91).