The basic idea of loop quantum cosmology (LQC) applies to every spatially homogeneous cosmological model; however only the spatially flat (so-called k = 0) case has been understood in detail in the literature thus far. In the closed (so-called k = 1) case certain technical difficulties have been the obstacle to development. In this work the difficulties are overcome, and a new LQC model of the spatially closed, homogeneous, isotropic universe is constructed. The topology of the spacelike section of the universe is assumed to be that of SU(2) or SO(3). Surprisingly, according to the new results achieved in this paper, the two cases can be distinguished from each other just by the local properties of the quantum geometry of the universe! The quantum Hamiltonian operator of the gravitational field takes the form of a difference operator, where the elementary step is the quantum of the 3-volume derived in the flat case by Ashtekar, Pawlowski and Singh. The mathematical properties of the operator are studied: it is essentially self-adjoint, bounded from above by 0, the 0 itself is not an eigenvalue, the eigenvectors form a basis. An estimate on the dimension of the spectral projection on any finite interval is provided.