Kim Jong Il

=== Heir apparent ===
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2021}}
By the time of the [[6th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea|Sixth Party Congress]] in October 1980, Kim's control of the Party operation was complete. He was given senior posts in the [[Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea|Presidium]], the [[Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea|Military Commission]] and the party [[Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea|Secretariat]]. When he was made a member of the [[1982 North Korean parliamentary election|Seventh Supreme People's Assembly]] in February 1982, international observers deemed him the [[heir apparent]] of North Korea. Prior to 1980, he had no public profile and was referred to only as the "Party Centre".{{sfn|Buzo|2002|p=127}} At this time Kim assumed the title "Dear Leader" ({{korean|hangul=친애하는 지도자|mr=ch'inaehanŭn jidoja|context=north}}),<ref name="dear">{{Cite web|date=19 November 2004 |title=North Korea's dear leader less dear |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/north-koreas-dear-leader-less-dear-20041119-gdz0y6.html|access-date=5 June 2023|website=The Age |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070213145724/http://www.theage.com.au/news/North-Korea/North-Koreas-dear-leader-less-dear/2004/11/18/1100748136912.html |archive-date=13 February 2007}}</ref> and the government began building a [[personality cult]] around him patterned after that of his father, the "Great Leader". Kim was regularly hailed by the media as the "fearless leader" and "the great successor to the revolutionary cause". He emerged as the most powerful figure behind his father in North Korea.

By the 1980s, North Korea began to experience severe economic stagnation. Kim Il Sung's policy of ''[[Juche]]'' (self-reliance) cut the country off from almost all external trade, even with its traditional partners, the Soviet Union and China. South Korea accused Kim of ordering the [[Rangoon bombing|1983 bombing in Rangoon]], Burma which killed 17 visiting South Korean officials, including four cabinet members, and another in 1987 which killed all 115 onboard [[Korean Air Flight 858]].<ref name="yangon">[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/asia/northkorea/keyplayers/kimjongil.html "North Korea: Nuclear Standoff"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103133000/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/asia/northkorea/keyplayers/kimjongil.html |date=3 January 2014 }}, ''The Online NewsHour'', [[PBS]], 19 October 2006.</ref> A North Korean agent, [[Kim Hyon-hui|Kim Hyon Hui]], confessed to planting a bomb in the case of the second, saying the operation was ordered by Kim personally.<ref name="hyonhui">{{Cite news |date=16 December 2004 |title=Fake ashes, very real North Korean sanctions |url=http://atimes.com/atimes/Japan/FL16Dh02.html|newspaper=Asia Times Online|first=Kosuke|last=Takahashi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041216133117/http://atimes.com/atimes/Japan/FL16Dh02.html |archive-date=16 December 2004 }}</ref>

On 24 December 1991, Kim was also named [[Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16325390|title=Kim Jong-un 'supreme commander'|date=24 December 2011|access-date=6 January 2020|language=en-GB|archive-date=11 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111012615/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16325390|url-status=live}}</ref> Defence Minister [[Oh Jin-wu|Oh Jin Wu]], one of Kim Il Sung's most loyal subordinates, engineered Kim's acceptance by the Army as the next leader of North Korea, despite his lack of military service. In 1992, Kim Il Sung publicly stated that his son was in charge of all internal affairs in the Democratic People's Republic.

In 1992, radio broadcasts started referring to him as the "Dear Father", instead of the "Dear Leader", suggesting a promotion. His 50th birthday in February was the occasion for massive celebrations, exceeded only by those for the 80th [[birthday of Kim Il-sung|birthday of Kim Il Sung]] himself on 15 April that same year.

In 1992, Kim made his first public speech during a military parade for the KPA's 60th anniversary and said:<ref name="Lim2008">{{cite book|author=Jae-Cheon Lim|title=Kim Jong-il's Leadership of North Korea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ag16AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA155|access-date=21 July 2015|year=2008 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1134017126|page=155|archive-date=4 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804040908/https://books.google.com/books?id=ag16AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA155 |url-status=live}}</ref> "Glory to the officers and soldiers of the heroic Korean People's Army!".<ref name="Jeffries2012">{{cite book|author=Ian Jeffries|title=North Korea, 2009–2012: A Guide to Economic and Political Developments|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DVv-IYB2E-QC&pg=PA674|access-date=21 July 2015|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1135116989|page=674|archive-date=4 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804041105/https://books.google.com/books?id=DVv-IYB2E-QC&pg=PA674 |url-status=live}}</ref> These words were followed by a loud applause by the crowd at Pyongyang's [[Kim Il Sung Square]] where the parade was held.

Kim was named [[Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea|Chairman]] of the [[National Defence Commission of North Korea|National Defence Commission]] on 9 April 1993, making him day-to-day commander of the armed forces.<ref name="nkle_20th">{{Cite web|title=20th Anniversary of Kim Jong Il's Election as NDC Chairman Commemorated|website=nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com|date=8 April 2014|access-date=15 December 2014|url=http://nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/20th-anniversary-of-kim-jong-ils-election-as-ndc-chairman-commemorated/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220151007/https://nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/20th-anniversary-of-kim-jong-ils-election-as-ndc-chairman-commemorated/|archive-date=20 February 2015}}</ref>

According to defector [[Hwang Jang-yop|Hwang Jang Yop]], the North Korean government system became even more centralized and [[autocratic]] during the 1980s and 1990s under Kim than it had been under his father. In one example explained by Hwang, although Kim Il Sung required his ministers to be loyal to him, he nonetheless and frequently sought their advice during decision-making. In contrast, Kim Jong Il demanded absolute obedience and agreement from his ministers and party officials with no advice or compromise, and he viewed any slight deviation from his thinking as a sign of disloyalty. According to Hwang, Kim Jong Il personally directed even minor details of state affairs, such as the size of houses for party secretaries and the delivery of gifts to his subordinates.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://irp.fas.org/world/rok/nis-docs/hwang2.htm|title=Testimony of Hwang Jang-yop |website=irp.fas.org|access-date=5 May 2022|archive-date=3 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303125611/https://irp.fas.org/world/rok/nis-docs/hwang2.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Kim Jong-il in North Korean propaganda (6075328850).jpg|thumb|Idealized portrait of Kim Jong Il]]