Kim Jong Un (English: /ˌkɪm dʒɒŋˈʊn, -ˈuːn/; Korean: 김정은, Korean: [kim.dʑɔŋ.ɯːn]; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been the Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the Leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (or the WPK) since 2012. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, also known as North Korea) is a highly centralised totalitarian state. Despite being one of the poorest countries in the world, it maintains one of the largest militaries and devotes signi