FAT, DRUNK, AND BRUTAL: Five years of Kim Jong Un: How has Kim the younger clung to power?

When Kim Jong Un first came to power, he seemed like something of a long shot. Could this princeling, still only in his twenties, really maintain order and secure the rule of his family amid the endless cloak and dagger ways of North Korean politics? Many assumed he’d quickly be assassinated, some that he’d simply be a puppet for more powerful interests.

But five years on and the Kim Dynasty of North Korea seems stronger than ever. The ruling party and the army are marching in step with the leadership, and state media is full of reports of his military supervision and party activities. Within no time, he’s slipped with ease into the roles that his father and grandfather inhabited for so long.

So how has he managed this?

Execution of the occasional rival by antiaircraft gun probably had something to do with it.