The softer, funnier side of Kim Jong-un, as revealed by his friends
Story highlights
North Korea's Kim Jong-un had another facet to his dictatorial personality in his school days, a school friend has vouched for him.
North Korea's "rocket man" had a softer and fun-loving side to him, and got along with everyone apart from occasional bouts of temper, The Daily Beast quoted his friend as saying.
Joao Micaelo, now a chef at a restaurant in Bern, has fond memories of his classmate even after 20 years.
He told The Daily Beast that the North Korean leader was popular in school and loved basketball and that he would like to renew contact with him again.
Marco Imhof of Bern told The Daily Beast that winning was very important for Kim but that he got along well even with those schoolchildren who came from other countries including enemies of North Korea. They argued about soccer and not politics, he said.
A former bodyguard for his now-deceased father, Kim Jong-il, however, said that an isolated childhood made the North Korean dictator volatile and stressed.
Lee Young-guk told ABC News that Kim Jong had no playmates of his age and only adults who educated him and played with him.