Three generations of Kims, the family around them - and the officials who carry out their orders. Who they are, how they rose and what happened to the ones who fell.
The yellow line is the bloodline that has ruled since 1948: grandfather, father, son - and perhaps next, a daughter.
Only three men have ruled North Korea since it was founded.
A Soviet-backed guerrilla who fought Japanese rule, he founded North Korea in 1948 and started the Korean War in 1950. He built the personality cult and the "Juche" self-reliance ideology. Four years after his death he was named "Eternal President".
Kim Il Sung's eldest son. He ruled through the 1990s famine, put the army first and carried out North Korea's first nuclear test in 2006. He died of a heart attack in December 2011 - Seoul only found out when state TV announced it two days later.
Took power at 27 after his father died. Schooled in Switzerland, he had his uncle executed in 2013, oversaw four of the country's six nuclear tests, met Donald Trump three times and signed a defence pact with Vladimir Putin in 2024. Re-elected party leader in February 2026.
In North Korea, family is the closest thing to a constitution - and the most dangerous place to stand.
Kim Jong Un's younger sister and his sharpest public voice, issuing statements that attack Seoul and Washington. She led the delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea and was promoted to full party department director in February 2026.
First shown to the world in November 2022 at an intercontinental missile launch. Seoul's spy agency now says she is the most likely successor. Her name became public through Dennis Rodman, who met her as a baby in 2013.
A former singer who married Kim Jong Un around 2009. She was first named in state media in 2012 and given the title "Respected First Lady" in 2018. She is rarely seen in public now.
Married to Kim Jong Il's sister and once seen as the power behind the young Kim Jong Un. In December 2013 he was dragged out of a party meeting on state TV, branded a traitor and executed days later.
Kim Jong Il's eldest son, once tipped as heir. He fell from favour after being caught trying to enter Japan on a fake passport in 2001 and lived in exile. In 2017 two women smeared VX nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur airport.
Kim Jong Nam's son grew up in Macau and studied in Bosnia and France, where he once called his uncle a "dictator" on TV. After his father was murdered in 2017, a group helping North Korean defectors spirited him away. He has not been seen in public since.
Kim Jong Il's only full sister, a four-star general and the widow of Jang Song Thaek. She vanished from view after his execution and reappeared at a concert with her nephew in 2020.
Passed over for the top job by his father. He keeps out of politics and is best known abroad as an Eric Clapton fan, spotted at concerts in Singapore in 2006 and London in 2015.
Kim Il Sung's son by his second wife, once seen as a rival to Kim Jong Il. He spent about 40 years as an ambassador in Europe - including Hungary, Finland and Poland - before returning to Pyongyang in 2019. As the last surviving son of Kim Il Sung, analysts often name him as a possible caretaker leader if Kim Jong Un died suddenly.
Born in Osaka, Japan, she became a dancer in Pyongyang and the partner of Kim Jong Il. Mother of Kim Jong Chol, Kim Jong Un and Kim Yo Jong. Her Japanese birth is never mentioned by state media.
Kim Il Sung's first wife and a guerrilla fighter against Japanese rule. Mother of Kim Jong Il and Kim Kyong Hui. The state reveres her as a revolutionary hero.
The officials closest to Kim. Titles change often - and without warning.
Kim's closest aide, at his side on more visits than anyone. Since March 2026 he chairs the Supreme People's Assembly Standing Committee and is First Vice President of the State Affairs Commission.
Runs the cabinet and the economy as premier since December 2024, reappointed in March 2026. Ranked second in the party's top body. He previously led the country's space programme.
North Korea's first female foreign minister, in post since 2022. A fluent English speaker, she was a key negotiator around the Trump summits and now handles the Russia relationship.
Promoted from head of the army's General Political Bureau when Kim sacked No Kwang Chol in August 2026.
Survived decades of purges to become the nominal head of state's parliament in 2019. He was dropped from the Central Committee in February 2026 and replaced by Jo Yong Won in March.
Its army, its nuclear weapons, its hunger, its cities and how people get around.