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Do not fill this in! {{Short description|Leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011}} {{For|the South Korean athlete|Kim Jong-il (athlete)}} {{Pp-vandalism|small=Yes}} {{Pp-move}} {{Family name hatnote|Kim|lang=Korean}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = [[List of Kim Jong Il's titles|Eternal General Secretary]] | name = Kim Jong Il | native_name = {{nobold|김정일}} | native_name_lang = ko | image = Kim Jong-il on 24 August 2011 (cropped).jpg<!-- Do not replace this photograph with a posthumous portrait, per [[MOS:IMAGEQUALITY]]. --> | caption = Kim in 2011 | office1 = [[General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea]] | term_start1 = 8 October 1997 | term_end1 = 17 December 2011 | predecessor1 = [[Kim Il Sung]] | successor1 = [[Kim Jong Un]] (as First Secretary) | office2 = [[Chairman of the National Defence Commission]] | 1blankname2 = First Vice Chairman | 1namedata2 = [[O Jin-u]]<br>[[Jo Myong-rok]] | 2blankname2 = Vice Chairman | 2namedata2 = [[Choe Kwang]]<br>[[Kim Il-chol]]<br>[[Ri Yong-mu]]<br>[[Yon Hyong-muk]]<br>[[Kim Yong-chun]]<br>[[O Kuk-ryol]]<br>[[Jang Song-thaek]] | term_start2 = 9 April 1993 | term_end2 = 17 December 2011 | predecessor2 = [[Kim Il Sung]] | successor2 = [[Kim Jong Un]] (as First Chairman) | office3 = [[Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army]] | term_start3 = 24 December 1991 | term_end3 = 17 December 2011 | predecessor3 = [[Kim Il Sung]] | successor3 = [[Kim Jong Un]] | birth_date = {{birth date|1941|2|16|df=y}}<br />[[Primorsky Krai]], [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]], [[Soviet Union]] (Soviet records)<br />{{birth date|1942|2|16|df=y}}<br />[[Baekdu Mountain]], [[Korea under Japanese rule|Korea, Empire of Japan]] (North Korean biography and records){{efn|North Korean biographies, which claim his birth date as 16 February 1942, are generally not considered to be factually reliable.}} | birth_place = | birth_name = Yuri Irsenovich Kim | death_date = {{death date|2011|12|17|df=y}} (aged 69 or 70) | death_place = [[Pyongyang]], North Korea | resting_place = [[Kumsusan Palace of the Sun]], Pyongyang, North Korea | nationality = {{unbulleted list|[[Koreans|North Korean]]|[[Soviet people|Soviet]]}} | spouse = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|[[Hong Il-chon]]|1966|1969|reason=divorce}}|{{marriage|[[Kim Young-sook]]|1974}}}} | partner = {{unbulleted list|[[Song Hye-rim]] (1968–2002)|[[Ko Yong-hui]] (1977–2004)|[[Kim Ok]] (2004–2011)}} | children = {{unbulleted list|Kim Hye-kyung|[[Kim Jong-nam]]|[[Kim Sol-song]]|[[Kim Jong-chul]]|[[Kim Jong Un]]|[[Kim Yo-jong]]<ref name=KJD8812/>}} | father = [[Kim Il Sung]] | mother = [[Kim Jong Suk]] | relatives = [[Kim family (North Korea)|Kim family]] | alma_mater = [[Kim Il Sung University]] | education = [[Mangyongdae Revolutionary School]] | allegiance = North Korea | branch = [[Korean People's Army]] | serviceyears = 1991–2011 | rank = {{transliteration|ko|[[Taewonsu]]}}(posthumously) | commands = [[Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army|Supreme Commander]] | signature = Kim Jong-il Signature.svg | footnotes = {{Collapsible list |titlestyle = background-color:#FCF;text-align:center; |title = Central institution membership |bullets = on |1980–2011: Member, Presidium of the Political Bureau of the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea |1974–2011: Member, Political Bureau of the 5th, 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea |1972–1997: Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea |1972–2011: Member, 5th, 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea |1982–2011: Deputy, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th Supreme People's Assembly }} ---- {{Collapsible list |titlestyle = background-color:#FCF;text-align:center; |title = Other offices held |bullets = on |1997–2011: Chairman, Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea |1980–1997: Member, Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea |1990–1993: First Vice Chairman, National Defense Commission }} ---- {{center|'''[[List of leaders of North Korea|Leader of the Democratic People's <br /> Republic of Korea]]'''<br /> {{flatlist| *{{big|'''←'''}} [[Kim Il Sung]] *[[Kim Jong Un]] {{big|'''→'''}} }} }} | party = [[Workers' Party of Korea]] | module = {{Infobox Korean name |child = yes |title = '''Kim Jong-il''' or '''Kim Jong Il''' |image = Kim Jong-il (Korean and Chinese characters).svg |image_size = 160px |caption = "Kim Jong Il" in [[Hangeul|Chosŏn'gŭl]] (top) and [[Hanja|hancha]] (bottom) scripts. |context = north |hangul = 김정일 |hanja = {{linktext|金|正|日}}<ref>{{Cite web|script-title=ko:김정일(남성)|url=https://nkinfo.unikorea.go.kr/nkp/theme/viewPeople.do?nkpmno=9069|script-work=ko:북한정보포털|language=ko|publisher=Ministry of Unification|access-date=2022-11-07}}</ref> |rr = Gim Jeong(-)il |mr = Kim Chŏngil }} }} '''Kim Jong Il''' ({{IPAc-en|,|k|ɪ|m|_|ʤ|ɒ|ŋ|ˈ|ɪ|l}};<ref>{{cite book|title=Collins English Dictionary: Complete and Unabridged|edition=12th |year=2014|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |chapter=Kim Jong-il |url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Kim+Jongil|via=[[The Free Dictionary]] |access-date=22 March 2021 |archive-date=4 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004095641/https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Kim+Jongil|url-status=live}}</ref> {{Korean|hangul=김정일|context=north}}; {{IPA-ko|kim.dzɔŋ.il}};{{efn|The given name ''[[Jung-il|Jong Il]]'' is pronounced {{IPA-ko|tsɔŋ.il|}} in isolation.}} also transcribed as '''Kim Jong-il''' and born '''Yuri Kim''';{{efn|{{lang-ru|Юрий Ким}}, {{IPA-ru|ˈjʉrʲɪj ɪrsɛˈnofit͡ɕ ˈkʲim}}}} 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second [[Supreme Leader (North Korean title)|supreme leader of North Korea]]. He led North Korea from [[Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung|the death]] of his father [[Kim Il Sung]] in 1994 until [[Death and state funeral of Kim Jong Il|his own death]] in 2011, when he was succeeded by his son, [[Kim Jong Un]]. Afterwards, Kim Jong Il was declared [[Eternal leaders of North Korea|Eternal General Secretary]] of the [[Workers' Party of Korea|WPK]]. In the early 1980s, Kim had become the [[heir apparent]] for the leadership of North Korea, thus being established the [[Kim family (North Korea)|Kim dynasty]], and he assumed important posts in party and army organs. Kim succeeded his father and founder of North Korea, [[Kim Il Sung]], following [[Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung|his death]] in 1994. Kim was the [[General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea]] (WPK), [[Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea|WPK Presidium]], [[Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea|Chairman]] of the [[National Defence Commission]] (NDC) of North Korea and the [[Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army]] (KPA), the [[List of countries by number of troops|fourth-largest standing army]] in the world. Kim ruled North Korea as a [[Human rights in North Korea|repressive]] and [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] dictatorship.{{efn|Sources saying that Kim ruled North Korea as a [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] dictatorship.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Scobell, Andrew.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/66049956|title=Kim Jong Il and North Korea: the leader and the system|date=2006|publisher=Strategic Studies Institute|oclc=66049956|access-date=26 June 2020|archive-date=4 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004171736/https://www.worldcat.org/title/kim-jong-il-and-north-korea-the-leader-and-the-system/oclc/66049956/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=McEachern, Patrick|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/747083533|title=Inside the red box : North Korea's post-totalitarian politics|date=2010|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0231153225|oclc=747083533|access-date=26 June 2020|archive-date=4 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004171745/https://www.worldcat.org/title/inside-the-red-box-north-koreas-post-totalitarian-politics/oclc/747083533/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Im, Chae-ch'on|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1100459946|title=Kim Jong Il's leadership of North Korea|date=2011|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1134017119|oclc=1100459946|access-date=26 June 2020|archive-date=4 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004171757/https://www.worldcat.org/title/kim-jong-ils-leadership-of-north-korea/oclc/1100459946/|url-status=live}}</ref>|name=|group=}} Kim assumed leadership during a period of catastrophic economic crisis amidst the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], on which it was heavily dependent for trade in food and other supplies, which brought [[North Korean famine|a famine]]. While the famine had ended by the late 1990s, food scarcity continued to be a problem throughout his tenure. Kim strengthened the role of the [[Korean People's Army|military]] by his ''[[Songun]]'' ("military-first") policies, making the army the central organizer of civil society. Kim's rule also saw tentative economic reforms, including the opening of the [[Kaesong Industrial Park]] in 2003. In April 2009, [[North Korea's constitution]] was amended to refer to him and his successors as the "supreme leader of the [[North Korea|DPRK]]". The most common colloquial [[List of Kim Jong Il's titles|title given to Kim]] during his lifetime was "Dear Leader" to distinguish him from his father [[Kim Il Sung]], the "Great Leader". Following Kim's failure to appear at important public events in 2008, foreign observers assumed that Kim had either fallen seriously ill or died. On 19 December 2011, the North Korean government announced that he had died two days earlier, whereupon his third son, [[Kim Jong Un]], was promoted to a senior position in the ruling WPK and succeeded him. After his death, alongside "Eternal General Secretary" of the WPK, Kim Jong Il was declared "Eternal Chairman" of the now defunct [[National Defence Commission]], in keeping with [[Eternal leaders of North Korea|the tradition of establishing eternal posts]] for the dead members of the [[Kim family (North Korea)|Kim dynasty]]. North Korean media also began referring to Kim as "the General" (''Changun''), similar to his father's posthumous designation as "the [eternal] President".<ref>{{cite book |last=Kim |first=Jong Un |title=Let Us Brilliantly Accomplish the Revolutionary Cause of Juche, Holding Kim Jong Il in High Esteem as the Eternal General Secretary of Our Party: Talk to Senior Officials of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea |url=http://www.korean-books.com.kp/en/packages/xnps/download.pg.php?122#.pdf |access-date=9 May 2018 |date=6 April 2012 |publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]] |location=Pyongyang |oclc=988748608 |page=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162207/http://www.korean-books.com.kp/en/packages/xnps/download.pg.php?122#.pdf |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live |quote=...{{nbsp}}an epoch-making event that establishes an important milestone in holding up General Kim Jong Il, together with President Kim Il Sung, as the eternal leader of our Party, and in carrying out the ideology and cause of the President and the General with credit.}}</ref> == Early life == === Birth === Soviet records show that Kim Jong Il was born Yuri Kim ({{lang-ru|Юрий Ким}}).<ref name="birthname">{{Cite news|url=http://nk.chosun.com/english/news/news.html?ACT=detail&res_id=7283 |date=22 August 2002|access-date=19 February 2007|periodical=The Chosun Ilbo|title=Sergeyevna Remembers Kim Jong Il|last=Chung|first=Byoung-sun|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311153844/http://nk.chosun.com/english/news/news.html?ACT=detail&res_id=7283|archive-date=11 March 2007}}<br />{{Cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1671983|publisher=NPR|date=12 February 2004 |access-date=19 February 2007|title=A Visit to Kim Jong Il's Russian Birthplace|last=Sheets|first=Lawrence |archive-date=14 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314055340/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1671983|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0607/05/i_ins.01.html|title=Transcripts|publisher=CNN.com |access-date=15 September 2011|archive-date=4 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004171812/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0607/05/i_ins.01.html/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.life.com/gallery/26532/image/51407067/north-korea-secrets-and-lies#index/7|title=Kim Jong-Il, Kim Il-Sung – In the Family Business – North Korea: Secrets and Lies – Photo Gallery|magazine=Life|access-date=19 December 2011|archive-date=8 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108023027/http://www.life.com/gallery/26532/image/51407067/north-korea-secrets-and-lies#index/7|url-status=dead}}</ref> In literature, it is assumed that he was born in 1941 in either the camp of [[Vyatskoye, Khabarovsk Krai|Vyatskoye]], near [[Khabarovsk]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1907197.stm|title=Profile: Kim Jong-il|work=[[BBC News]]|date=16 January 2009|access-date=28 December 2011|archive-date=18 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218161501/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1907197.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> or camp Voroshilov near [[Ussurijsk|Nikolsk]].<ref>{{citation |author=Christopher Richardson |editor=Adam Cathcart |editor2=Robert Winstanley-Chesters |editor3=Christopher K. Green |title=Change and Continuity in North Korean Politics |chapter=Hagiography of the Kims and the childhood of saints |publisher=Routledge |location=London / New York |page=121 |isbn=978-1134811045 |date=2017}}</ref> According to Lim Jae Cheon, Kim cannot have been born in Vyatskoye as Kim Il Sung's war records show that he arrived at Vyatskoye only in July 1942 and had been living in Voroshilov before, thus Kim Jong Il is generally agreed to have been born in Voroshilov.<ref name="Lim9–10">{{citation |author=Lim Jae-cheon |title=Kim Jong Il's Leadership of North Korea |edition=1 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |pages=9–10 |isbn=978-0203884720 |date=2009}}</ref> Kim's mother, [[Kim Jong-suk|Kim Jong Suk]], was Kim Il Sung's first wife. Inside his family, he was nicknamed "Yura",<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CglyAAAAMAAJ|title=Korea & World Affairs, Volume 27|date=2003 |publisher=Research Center for Peace and Unification|pages=246|language=en|access-date=25 November 2021 |archive-date=25 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125215042/https://books.google.com/books?id=CglyAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> while his younger brother [[Kim Man-il|Kim Man Il]] (born Alexander Irsenovich Kim) was nicknamed "Shura".<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Ness|first1=Immanuel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DFsYDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA112|title=The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism |last2=Cope |first2=Zak|year=2016|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0230392786|page=112|language=en|access-date=25 November 2021|archive-date=25 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125215045/https://books.google.com/books?id=DFsYDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA112 |url-status=live}}</ref> Kim's official biography states he was born in a secret military camp on [[Paektu Mountain]] ({{Korean|백두산밀영고향집|context=north}}; ''Baekdusan Miryeong Gohyang jip'') in [[Chōsen]] on 16 February 1942.{{sfn|''Kim Jong Il: Brief History''|1998|p=1}} According to one comrade of Kim's mother, Lee Min, word of Kim's birth first reached an army camp in Vyatskoye via radio and that both Kim and his mother did not return there until the following year.{{sfn|Breen|2012|p=45}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Interview with Lee Min |newspaper=[[Hankyoreh Shinmun]]|date=October 1999}}</ref> Kim Jong Suk died in 1949 from an ectopic pregnancy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/GF04Dg03.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050613014153/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/GF04Dg03.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=13 June 2005|title=The Kims' North Korea|date=4 June 2005|work=Asia Times |access-date=28 December 2011}}</ref> In 1945, Kim was four years old when World War II ended and Korea regained [[Korea under Japanese rule|independence from Japan]]. His father returned to [[Pyongyang]] that September, and in late November Kim returned to Korea via a Soviet ship, landing at [[Sonbong]]. The family moved into a former Japanese officer's mansion in Pyongyang, with a garden and pool. Kim's brother drowned there in 1948.<ref name=post>{{cite book|title=Leaders and their followers in a dangerous world: the psychology of political behavior|last=Post|first=Jerrold M.|author2=Alexander George|pages=[https://archive.org/details/leaderstheirfoll0000post/page/243 243–244]|year=2004|publisher=[[Cornell University Press]]|isbn=978-0801441691|url=https://archive.org/details/leaderstheirfoll0000post/page/243}}</ref> === Education === According to his official biography, Kim completed the course of general education between September 1950 and August 1960. He attended Primary School No. 4 and Middle School No. 1 ([[Namsan Senior High School|Namsan Higher Middle School]]) in Pyongyang.<ref name="OhHassig2004">{{cite book|author1=Kongdan Oh|author2=Ralph C. Hassig|title=North Korea through the Looking Glass|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fg15OViIgIEC&pg=PA86|year=2004|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|isbn=978-0815798200|page=86 |access-date=7 March 2018|archive-date=4 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804013129/https://books.google.com/books?id=fg15OViIgIEC&pg=PA86|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|''Kim Jong Il: Brief History''|1998|pp=5–6}} This is contested by foreign academics, who believe he is more likely to have received his early education in the People's Republic of China as a precaution to ensure his safety during the [[Korean War]].<ref>Martin, Bradley K. (2004). ''Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader'', New York: St. Martin's Press. {{ISBN|0312322216}}.</ref>{{Page needed|date=January 2022}} Throughout his schooling, Kim was involved in politics. He was active in the Korean Children's Union and the Democratic Youth League of North Korea (DYL), taking part in study groups of Marxist political theory and other literature. In September 1957, he became vice-chairman of his middle school's DYL branch (the chairman had to be a teacher). He pursued a programme of anti-factionalism and attempted to encourage greater ideological education among his classmates.{{sfn|''Kim Jong Il: Brief History''|1998|pp=7–9}} Kim is also said to have received English language education in [[Malta]] in the early 1970s<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111220/local/The-Dear-Leader-s-secret-stay-in-Malta.399242|title=The Dear Leader's secret stay in Malta|last=Ltd|first=Allied Newspapers|website=Times of Malta|date=20 December 2011 |language=en-GB|access-date=4 April 2019|archive-date=4 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404130549/https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111220/local/The-Dear-Leader-s-secret-stay-in-Malta.399242|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nknews.org/2014/06/kim-jong-ils-unlikely-maltese-mentor-a-secret-military-agreement/ |title=Kim Jong Il's unlikely Maltese mentor & a secret military agreement|date=11 June 2014|publisher=[[NK News]] – North Korea News|language=en-US|access-date=4 April 2019|archive-date=17 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417033152/https://www.nknews.org/2014/06/kim-jong-ils-unlikely-maltese-mentor-a-secret-military-agreement/|url-status=live}}</ref> on his infrequent holidays there as a guest of Prime Minister [[Dom Mintoff]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Peter|last=Preston |url=https://www.theguardian.com/comment/story/0,3604,866479,00.html|title=Kim is a baby rattling the sides of a cot|work=The Guardian|date=30 December 2002|access-date=28 December 2011|location=London |archive-date=4 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004095640/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/dec/30/comment.peterpreston|url-status=live}}</ref> The elder Kim had meanwhile remarried and had another son, [[Kim Pyong-il|Kim Pyong Il]]. Since 1988, Kim Pyong Il has served in a series of North Korean embassies in Europe and was the North Korean ambassador to [[Poland]]. Foreign commentators suspect that Kim Pyong Il was sent to these distant posts by his father in order to avoid a power struggle between his two sons.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/FB14Dg04.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040213164807/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/FB14Dg04.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=13 February 2004|title=Happy Birthday, Dear Leader – who's next in line?|work=Asia Times|date=14 February 2004|access-date=28 December 2011}}</ref> == Ascension to power == === Initial career === Kim Jong Il officially joined the Workers' Party of Korea in July 1961.<ref name="ournation-school.com">{{Cite web|title=략력|url=https://ournation-school.com/great/81/2#greates_wrapper|website=Our Nation School}}</ref> He rose up the ranks during the 1960s,<ref>Adrian Buzo, ''The Making of Modern Korea''. London: Routledge Press, 2002, {{ISBN|978-0415237499}}, p. 127.</ref> and benefited greatly from the [[Kapsan Faction Incident]] around 1967, which was the last credible challenge to Kim Il Sung's rule.<ref>Lim Jae-Cheon, ''Leader Symbols and Personality Cult in North Korea: The Leader State''. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2015, {{ISBN|978-1317567400}}.</ref> This incident marked the first time Kim Jong Il was – at age 26 – given official duties by his father, when the younger Kim took part in the investigation and purges that followed the incident.<ref>Lim Jae-Cheon, ''Kim Jong-il's Leadership of North Korea''. New York: Routledge, 2008, {{ISBN|978-1134017126}}, pp. 38–47.</ref> In addition, Kim Jong Il gave a speech at the plenum; it was his first as a figure of authority. Kim Jong Il's name was also mentioned in public documents, possibly for the first time, indicating that Kim Il Sung might have already planned for Jong Il to succeed him as leader.<ref>Lim Jae-Cheon, ''Leader Symbols and Personality Cult in North Korea: The Leader State'' (New York: Taylor & Francis, 2015, {{ISBN|978-1317567400}}.</ref><ref name="Lim Jae-Cheon 2008">Lim Jae-Cheon, Kim Jong-il's Leadership of North Korea (New York: Routledge, 2008, {{ISBN|978-1134017126}}, pp. 38–47.</ref> Only six months after, in an unscheduled meeting of the party, Kim Il Sung called for loyalty in the film industry that had betrayed him with ''An Act of Sincerity''.{{efn|''An Act of Sincerity'', described variously as either a film or a stage play, was produced by Kim To-man after the death of Choe Chae-ryon, the wife of Kapsan Faction leader [[Pak Kum-chol]]. It portrayed Choe in a positive light and emphasized her devotion to her husband. Kim Il-sung disapproved of it and implied that it exhibited misplaced loyalty.<ref name="rajongyil">{{cite book|last=Ra|first=Jong-yil|author-mask=Ra Jong-yil|translator=Jinna Park|title=Inside North Korea's Theocracy: The Rise and Sudden Fall of Jang Song-thaek|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEyWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA35|year=2019|publisher=State University of New York Press|location=Albany|isbn=978-1438473734|access-date=4 August 2022|archive-date=4 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804174029/https://books.google.com/books?id=yEyWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA35|url-status=live}}</ref>}} Kim Jong Il himself announced that he was up to the task and thus begun his influential career in North Korean film-making,<ref name="Lim Jae-Cheon 2008"/> during which he made significant efforts to further intensify the personality cult of his father and attach himself to it.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Levi|first=Nicolas|date=2015-06-30|title=Kim Jong Il: a film director who ran a country|url=https://www.jomswsge.com/,81826,0,2.html|journal=Journal of Modern Science|language=en |volume=25|issue=2|pages=155–166|issn=1734-2031}}</ref> Kim Jong Il was elected to the [[Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|Central Committee]] in 1972 and became its secretary the following year.<ref name="ournation-school.com"/> However, when Kim Il Sung began to contemplate the succession question in the early 1970s,<ref>{{citation |title=Kim Il-Sung: The North Korean Leader |last=Suh |first=Dae-Sook |year=1988 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0231065733 |url=https://archive.org/details/00book729884 |pages=276–280 }}</ref> it was not certain that Kim Jong Il would be his successor.<ref name="rajongyil"/> There was Kim's uncle, [[Kim Yong Ju]], who was once believed to be Kim Il Sung's eventual successor<ref>"The Losers in N. Korea's Ruling Family", ''Chosun Ilbo'', 17 February 2011.</ref> but who had made several mistakes in the struggle for power, had serious flaws,<ref name="rajongyil"/> and was becoming increasingly marginalized.<ref name="memoirs">Hwang Jang Yop's Memoirs (2006)</ref> Then there was the more serious threat posed by his stepmother's, [[Kim Song-ae]]'s, children, especially by the eldest, [[Kim Pyong Il]].<ref name="rajongyil"/> In the end, Kim Jong Il won out: Kim Yong Ju was removed from his top posts and demoted to vice-premier.<ref name="memoirs"/> Then Kim Song-ae lost her position as [[Socialist Women's Union of Korea|chair of the KDWL]], which was her vital power base.<ref>Jang Jin-sung: Dear Leader: Poet, Spy, Escapee – A Look Inside North Korea, 2014.</ref> Kim Pyong Il had many positive characteristics<ref name="rajongyil"/> but he was also known as a womanizer who threw raucous parties where the attendees sometimes shouted, "Long live Kim Pyong Il!" Kim Jong Il reported this to his father, knowing that it could be portrayed as a threat to the personality cult surrounding him. Reportedly, Kim Il Sung was infuriated and Pyong Il thus fell out of favor, strengthening Kim Jong Il's position.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/left-out-in-the-cold-the-man-who-would-be-kim-7561670.html|first=Shaun|last=Walker|title=Left out in the cold: the man who would be Kim|periodical=The Independent|date=2012-03-12|access-date=2024-03-10|archive-date=16 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116000725/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/left-out-in-the-cold-the-man-who-would-be-kim-7561670.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1979, Kim Pyong Il began a series of diplomatic postings in [[Europe]], arranged so as then he couldn't influence politics in North Korea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk03100&num=2040|title=Photos of Kim Jong Il's Brother, Kim Pyong Il and Recent Visits|last=Kim|first=Song-A|date=2007-05-09|access-date=2024-03-10|periodical=Daily NK|archive-date=27 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927014305/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk03100&num=2040|url-status=live}}</ref> Kim Pyong Il only returned to North Korea in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nknews.org/2019/11/kim-pyong-il-long-time-north-korean-ambassador-in-europe-returns-home/|title=Kim Pyong Il, long-time North Korean ambassador in Europe, returns home|date=8 November 2019|website=[[NK News]]|access-date=10 March 2024|archive-date=1 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501192209/https://www.nknews.org/2019/11/kim-pyong-il-long-time-north-korean-ambassador-in-europe-returns-home/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Kim Jong Il's official biography, the Central Committee already appointed him successor to Kim Il Sung in 1974. The first public confirmation of Kim Jong Il's position as successor came in 1977, when in a booklet he was designated as Kim Il Sung's only heir.<ref>{{citation |title=Kim Il-Sung: The North Korean Leader |last=Suh |first=Dae-Sook |year=1988 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0231065733 |url=https://archive.org/details/00book729884 |pages=276–280 }}</ref> === 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]] == Leader of North Korea == [[File:The statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang (april 2012).jpg|thumb|North Koreans bowing to the statues of Kim Jong Il and his father, Kim Il Sung, at the [[Mansu Hill Grand Monument]]]] On 8 July 1994, [[Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung|Kim Il Sung died]] at the age of 82 from a heart attack.{{sfn|Kleiner|2001|p=291}} Kim Jong Il had been his father's designated successor as early as 1974,{{sfn|Lim|2015|p=90}} named commander-in-chief in 1991,{{sfn|Becker|2006|p=129}} and became Supreme Leader upon his father's death.<ref name="wilsoncenter 1">{{cite web |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/the-rise-kim-jong-il-evidence-east-german-archives\ |title=The Rise of Kim Jong Il – Evidence from East German Archives|publisher=www.wilsoncenter.org|access-date=28 April 2020}}{{Dead link|date=June 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He officially took over his father's old post as [[General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea]] on 8 October 1997.{{sfn|Buzo|2002|p=175}} In 1998, he was re-elected as chairman of the National Defence Commission, and a constitutional amendment declared that post to be "the highest post of the state."{{sfn|Kleiner|2001|p=296}} Also in 1998, the [[Supreme People's Assembly]] wrote the president's post out of the constitution and designated Kim Il Sung as the country's "[[Eternal President of the Republic|Eternal President]]" in order to honor his memory forever.{{sfn|Kleiner|2001|p=274}} Officially, Kim was part of a [[triumvirate]] heading the executive branch of the North Korean government along with Premier [[Choe Yong-rim|Choe Yong Rim]] and parliament chairman [[Kim Yong-nam|Kim Yong Nam]] (no relation). Kim commanded the armed forces, Choe Yong Rim headed the government and handled domestic affairs and Kim Yong Nam handled foreign relations. However, in practice, Kim, like his father before him, exercised absolute control over the government and the country. Although not required to stand for popular election to his key offices, he was unanimously elected to the Supreme People's Assembly every five years, representing a military constituency, due to his concurrent capacities as supreme commander of the KPA and chairman of the NDC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com/kji-2/kim-jong-il-personal-secretariat/|title=The Personal Secretariat|date=21 August 2010|publisher=nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com |access-date=19 April 2013|archive-date=23 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423220747/http://nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com/kji-2/kim-jong-il-personal-secretariat/|url-status=live}}</ref> === Economic policies === Kim had a "reputation for being almost comically incompetent in matters of economic management".{{sfn|Lankov|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FHpYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA130 130]}} The [[economy of North Korea]] struggled throughout the 1990s, primarily due to mismanagement. In addition, North Korea experienced severe [[floods]] in the mid-1990s, exacerbated by poor land management.{{sfn|Noland|2004}}<ref name="haggard209">{{cite book|last1=Haggard|last2=Nolan|last3=Sen|title=Famine in North Korea: Markets, Aid, and Reform|year=2009|isbn=978-0231140010|page=209|publisher=Columbia University Press |quote=This tragedy was the result of a misguided strategy of self-reliance that only served to increase the country's vulnerability to both economic and natural shocks ... The state's culpability in this vast misery elevates the North Korean famine to a crime against humanity}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/147613|access-date=24 September 2011|title=North Korea: A terrible truth|newspaper=The Economist|date=17 April 1997|archive-date=11 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011191429/http://www.economist.com/node/147613|url-status=live}}</ref> This, compounded with the fact that only 18% of North Korea is arable land<ref>[http://www.country-studies.com/north-korea/agriculture.html "North Korea Agriculture"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061102171647/http://www.country-studies.com/north-korea/agriculture.html |date=2 November 2006 }}, Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. Retrieved 11 March 2007.</ref> and the country's inability to import the goods necessary to sustain industry,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Other Industry – North Korean Targets |url=https://nuke.fas.org/guide/dprk/target/industry.htm|date=15 June 2000|publisher=Federation of American Scientists|website=nuke.fas.org|access-date=5 June 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627192603/https://fas.org/nuke/guide/dprk/target/industry.htm |archive-date=27 June 2015}}</ref> led to a [[Famine in North Korea|severe famine]] and left North Korea economically devastated. Faced with a country in decay, Kim adopted a [[Songun|"Military-First" policy]] to strengthen the country and reinforce the regime.<ref>Homer T. Hodge.{{cite web |url=http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/parameters/03spring/hodge.htm |title=North Korea's Military Strategy |access-date=5 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609120533/http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/parameters/03spring/hodge.htm |archive-date=9 June 2007 }} , ''Parameters'', U.S. Army War College Quarterly, 2003.</ref> On the national scale, the [[Japanese Foreign Ministry]] acknowledges that this has resulted in a positive growth rate for the country since 1996, with the implementation of "landmark socialist-type market economic practices" in 2002, keeping the North afloat despite a continued dependency on foreign aid for food.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Kim Jong-il's military-first policy a silver bullet |first=Myong-choi |last=Kim |website=Asia Times Online |url=http://atimes.com/atimes/Korea/IA04Dg02.html |date=4 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108182523/http://atimes.com/atimes/Korea/IA04Dg02.html |archive-date=8 January 2007 }}</ref> In the wake of the devastation of the 1990s, the government began formally approving some activity of small-scale bartering and trade. As observed by Daniel Sneider, associate director for research at the Stanford University [[Asia–Pacific Research Center]], this flirtation with capitalism was "fairly limited, but{{spnd}}especially compared to the past{{spnd}}there are now remarkable markets that create the semblance of a [[free market]] system".<ref>[http://www.cfr.org/publication/10858/ "North Korea's Capitalist Experiment"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216130206/http://www.cfr.org/publication/10858/ |date=16 February 2009 }}, Council on Foreign Relations, 8 June 2006.</ref> In 2002, Kim declared that "money should be capable of measuring the worth of all commodities."<ref>{{Cite news|title=On North Korea's streets, pink and tangerine buses|work=Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0602/p07s02-woap.html|date=2 June 2005|access-date=5 June 2023 |issn=0882-7729 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050829074632/http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0602/p07s02-woap.html |archive-date=29 August 2005}}</ref> These gestures toward economic reform mirror similar actions taken by China's [[Deng Xiaoping]] in the late 1980s and early 90s. During a rare visit in 2006, Kim expressed admiration for China's rapid economic progress.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Inside North Korea: A Joint U.S.—Chinese Dialogue|url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2007/01/inside-north-korea-joint-us-chinese-dialogue|first1=Bonnie |last1=Glaser |first2=Chietigj |last2=Bajpaee |date=1 January 2007 |access-date=5 June 2023 |website=United States Institute of Peace |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926224850/http://www.usip.org/publications/inside-north-korea-joint-us-chinese-dialogue |archive-date=26 September 2012}}</ref> An unsuccessful devaluation of the [[North Korean won]] in 2009, initiated or approved by Kim personally,{{sfn|Lankov|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FHpYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA130 130]}} caused brief economic chaos and uncovered the vulnerability of the country's societal fabric in the face of crisis.{{sfn|Lankov|2014|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FHpYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA131 131]–[https://books.google.com/books?id=FHpYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA133 133]}} === Foreign relations === [[File:Vladimir Putin 4 August 2001-1.jpg|thumb|left|Kim talking with Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] during their 2001 meeting in Moscow]] Kim was known as a skilled and manipulative diplomat.{{sfn|Lankov|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FHpYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA130 130]}} In 1998, South Korean President [[Kim Dae-jung]] implemented the "[[Sunshine Policy]]" to improve North-South relations and to allow South Korean companies to start projects in the North. Kim announced plans to import and develop new technologies to develop North Korea's fledgling software industry. As a result of the new policy, the [[Kaesong Industrial Park]] was constructed in 2003 just north of the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone|de-militarized zone]].<ref>[http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/biz/200404/kt2004042317263611880.htm "Asan, KOLAND Permitted to Develop Kaesong Complex"], ''The Korea Times'', 23 April 2004. {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic|fix-attempted=yes}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> [[File:SD William Cohen meets with Jo Myong Rok in the Pentagon.jpg|thumb|[[Kim Ok]], Kim's personal secretary, with U.S. Secretary of Defense [[William Cohen]], 2000]] In 1994, North Korea and the United States signed an [[Agreed Framework]] which was designed to freeze and eventually dismantle the North's [[North Korean nuclear weapons program|nuclear weapons program]] in exchange for aid in producing two power-generating [[nuclear reactor]]s and the assurance that it would not be invaded again. In 2000, after a meeting with [[Madeleine Albright]], he agreed to a moratorium on missile construction.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Timeline and Quick Facts on the Korean War|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/facts-korean-war-quick-guide-195745|access-date=2023-01-24|website=ThoughtCo|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rhodes|first1=Richard|last2=Shellenberger|first2=Michael|date=23 May 2017 |title=Atoms for Pyongyang: Let North Korea Have Peaceful Nuclear Power |journal=Foreign Affairs |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/north-korea/2017-05-23/atoms-pyongyang|access-date=5 June 2023|issn=0015-7120}}</ref> In 2002, Kim's government admitted to having produced nuclear weapons since the 1994 agreement. Kim's regime argued the secret production was necessary for security purposes{{spnd}}citing the presence of United States-owned nuclear weapons in South Korea and the new tensions with the United States under President [[George W. Bush]].<ref>{{Cite web|website=GLOCOM Platform |title=Weekly Review #70: Motivation Behind North Korea's Nuclear Confession |date=28 October 2002 |url=http://www.glocom.org/media_reviews/w_review/20021028_weekly_review70/index.html |first=John |last=de Boer |access-date=5 June 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006230559/http://www.glocom.org/media_reviews/w_review/20021028_weekly_review70/index.html |archive-date=6 October 2006}}</ref> On 9 October 2006, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency announced that it had successfully conducted [[2006 North Korean nuclear test|an underground nuclear test]].<ref name="msnbc1">{{cite web | url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2006/200610/news10/10.htm#1 | title=DPRK Successfully Conducts Underground Nuclear Test|publisher=[[Korean Central News Agency]]|date=10 October 2006|access-date=10 October 2006| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061026061534/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2006/200610/news10/10.htm| archive-date= 26 October 2006 }}</ref> === Cult of personality === {{Main|North Korean cult of personality}} [[File:DPRK election.jpg|thumb|A North Korean voting booth containing portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il under the national flag (below the portraits is the ballot box)]] Kim was the focus of an elaborate [[personality cult]] inherited from his father and founder of the DPRK, Kim Il Sung. Kim Jong Il was often the centre of attention throughout ordinary life in the DPRK. On his 60th birthday (based on his official date of birth), mass celebrations occurred throughout the country on the occasion of his [[Hwangap]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1823713.stm|title=North Korea marks leader's birthday|publisher=BBC|date=16 February 2002|access-date=18 December 2007|archive-date=23 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123095151/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1823713.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2010, the North Korean media reported that Kim's distinctive clothing had set worldwide fashion trends.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/nkorea-leader-sets-world-fashion-trend-pyongyang-claims-5533361.html|title=N.Korea leader sets world fashion trend, Pyongyang claims|work=The Independent|date=8 April 2010|access-date=14 July 2014|archive-date=13 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513063138/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/nkorea-leader-sets-world-fashion-trend-pyongyang-claims-5533361.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The prevailing point of view is that the people's adherence to Kim's cult of personality was solely out of respect for Kim Il Sung or out of fear of punishment for failure to pay homage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nautilus.org/DPRKbriefingbook/negotiating/issue.html|title="Korean Monarch Kim Jong Il: Technocrat Ruler of the Hermit Kingdom Facing the Challenge of Modernity", The Nautilus Institute|access-date=18 December 2007|last=Mansourov|first=Alexandre|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070816180527/http://nautilus.org/DPRKbriefingbook/negotiating/issue.html|archive-date=16 August 2007}}</ref> Media and government sources from outside North Korea generally support this view,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6368203.stm|title=Nuclear deal fuels Kim's celebrations|publisher=BBC|date=16 February 2007|access-date=18 December 2007|last=Scanlon|first=Charles|archive-date=16 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916084220/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6368203.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1916374.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026142417/http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1916374.ece|archive-date=26 October 2007|title=Kim Jong Il, the tyrant with a passion for wine, women and the bomb|work=The Independent|date=21 October 2006|access-date=18 December 2007|last=Coonan|first=Clifford|url-status=dead|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25689-2396147,00.html |title='Dear Leader' clings to power while his people pay the price |first=Richard |last=Lloyd Parry |newspaper=The Times |date=10 October 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061225131438/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25689-2396147,00.html |archive-date=25 December 2006}}</ref><ref name="NZ_Herald_10405224">{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=340&ObjectID=10405224|title=North Korea's 'Dear Leader' flaunts nuclear prowess|date=10 October 2006|agency=[[Reuters]]|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|access-date=13 October 2011|archive-date=7 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107165039/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Compiled by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. [https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27775.htm "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802205210/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27775.htm |date=2 August 2020 }} United States Department of State. 25 February 2004. Retrieved 18 December 2007.</ref> while North Korean government sources aver that it was genuine hero worship.<ref>{{cite web|last=LaBouyer|first=Jason|url=http://www.korea-dpr.com/lodestar0605v.pdf |title=When friends become enemies – Understanding left-wing hostility to the DPRK |access-date=18 December 2007 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319072854/http://www.korea-dpr.com/lodestar0605v.pdf |archive-date=19 March 2009 |work=Lodestar|date=May–June 2005|pages=7–9|publisher=Korea-DPR.com}}</ref> The song "[[No Motherland Without You]]", sung by the [[Korean People's Army State Merited Chorus and Symphony Orchestra|KPA State Merited Choir]], was created especially for Kim in 1992 and is frequently broadcast on the radio and from loudspeakers on the streets of Pyongyang.<ref>{{cite book|author=Marshall Cavendish Corporation|title=World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia|year=2007|page=929|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YG2AFyFppJQC&pg=PA929|isbn=978-0761476313|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|access-date=21 May 2020|archive-date=28 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528065315/https://books.google.com/books?id=YG2AFyFppJQC&pg=PA929|url-status=live}}</ref> === Human rights record === {{see also|Human rights in North Korea}} According to a 2004 [[Human Rights Watch]] report, the North Korean government under Kim was "among the world's most repressive governments", having up to 200,000 political prisoners according to U.S. and South Korean officials, with no freedom of the press or religion, political opposition or equal education: "Virtually every aspect of political, social, and economic life is controlled by the government."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/07/08/nkorea9040.htm|title=Human Rights in North Korea|access-date=2 August 2007|date=July 2004|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]|archive-date=1 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061201160439/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/07/08/nkorea9040.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Kim's government was accused of "[[crimes against humanity]]" for its alleged culpability in creating and prolonging the [[North Korean famine|1990s famine]].{{sfn|Noland|2004}}<ref name="haggard209"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/147613|access-date=24 September 2011|title=North Korea: A terrible truth|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=17 April 1997|archive-date=11 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011191429/http://www.economist.com/node/147613|url-status=live}}</ref> Human Rights Watch characterized him as a [[dictator]] and accused him of [[human rights violations]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/02/13/north-korea-nothing-celebrate-about-kim-jong-il|title=North Korea: Nothing to Celebrate About Kim Jong-Il|date=13 February 2015|work=Human Rights Watch|access-date=25 January 2019|archive-date=4 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004084950/https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/02/13/north-korea-nothing-celebrate-about-kim-jong-il|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Amnesty International]] condemned him for leaving 'millions of North Koreans mired in poverty' and detaining hundreds of thousands of people in prison camps.<ref>{{cite web |title=North Korea: Kim Jong-il's death could be opportunity for human rights |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2011/12/north-korea-kim-jong-il-s-death-opportunity-improving-human-rights/ |website=www.amnesty.org |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313203102/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2011/12/north-korea-kim-jong-il-s-death-opportunity-improving-human-rights/ |archive-date=13 March 2016 |language=en |date=19 December 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Kim Jong Il claimed that the barometer for distinguishing whether a person can be deemed a member of North Korean society and hence entitled to rights 'lies not on the grounds of his social class but on the grounds of his ideology'.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Weatherley |first1=Robert |last2=Jiyoung |first2=Song |title=The Evolution of Human Rights Thinking in North Korea |journal=Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics |date=June 2008 |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=272–296 |doi=10.1080/13523270802003111|s2cid=143231124 |doi-access=free }}</ref> == Health and rumors of waning power == === 2008 reports === In an August 2008 issue of the Japanese newsweekly ''[[Shūkan Gendai]]'', [[Waseda University]] professor Toshimitsu Shigemura, an authority on the [[Korean Peninsula]],<ref name="SundayTimes 20080907">{{cite news|last=Sheridan|first=Michael|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4692472.ece|title=North Korea 'uses doubles to hide death of Kim'|work=The Times|date=7 September 2008|access-date=5 December 2008|location=London|archive-date=11 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911065831/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4692472.ece}}</ref> claimed that Kim died of [[diabetes]] in late 2003 and had been replaced in public appearances by one or more stand-ins previously employed to protect him from assassination attempts.<ref>{{Cite web|title=N Korea's Kim died in 2003; replaced by lookalike, says Waseda professor|url=https://japantoday.com/category/features/kuchikomi/north-koreas-kim-died-in-2003-and-was-replaced-by-lookalike-says-waseda-profesor|date=23 August 2008 |access-date=5 June 2023 |website=Japan Today |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914164922/http://www.japantoday.com/category/kuchikomi/view/north-koreas-kim-died-in-2003-and-was-replaced-by-lookalike-says-waseda-profesor |archive-date=14 September 2008}}</ref> In a subsequent best-selling book, ''The True Character of Kim Jong Il'', Shigemura cited apparently unnamed people close to Kim's family along with Japanese and South Korean intelligence sources, claiming they confirmed Kim's diabetes took a turn for the worse early in 2000 and from then until his supposed death three-and-a-half years later he was using a wheelchair. Shigemura moreover claimed a voiceprint analysis of Kim speaking in 2004 did not match a known earlier recording. It was also noted that Kim did not appear in public for the [[2008 Summer Olympics torch relay|Olympic torch relay]] in Pyongyang on 28 April 2008. The question had reportedly "baffled foreign [[intelligence agencies]] for years".<ref name="SundayTimes 20080907"/> On 9 September 2008, various sources reported that after he did not show up that day for a military parade celebrating North Korea's 60th anniversary, United States intelligence agencies believed Kim might be "gravely ill" after having suffered a stroke. He had last been seen in public a month earlier.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.startribune.com/nation/28048604.html |title=North Korea's Kim Jong Il may be gravely ill, jeopardizing progress on halting nukes |author=Pamela Hess and Matthew Lee |work=Star Tribune |date=10 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911223358/http://www.startribune.com/nation/28048604.html |archive-date=11 September 2008 |access-date=19 December 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> A former [[CIA]] official said earlier reports of a health crisis were likely accurate. North Korean media remained silent on the issue. An [[Associated Press]] report said analysts believed Kim had been supporting moderates in the foreign ministry, while North Korea's powerful military was against so-called "Six-Party" negotiations with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the United States aimed towards ridding North Korea of nuclear weapons. Some United States officials noted that soon after rumours about Kim's health were publicized a month before, North Korea had taken a "tougher line in nuclear negotiations". In late August North Korea's official news agency reported the government would "consider soon a step to restore the nuclear facilities in [[Nyongbyon]] to their original state as strongly requested by its relevant institutions". Analysts said this meant "the military may have taken the upper hand and that Kim might no longer be wielding absolute authority". By 10 September, there were conflicting reports. Unidentified South Korean government officials said Kim had undergone surgery after suffering a minor stroke and had apparently "intended to attend 9 September event in the afternoon but decided not to because of the aftermath of the surgery". Kim Yong Nam said, "While we wanted to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the country with general secretary Kim Jong Il, we celebrated on our own". Song Il Ho, North Korea's ambassador said, "We see such reports as not only worthless, but rather as a conspiracy plot". Seoul's ''Chosun Ilbo'' newspaper reported that "the South Korean embassy in Beijing had received an intelligence report that Kim collapsed on 22 August".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j2zReXndGtxbEQ9gsY3SWxImKHHw |title=NKorean leader suffered stroke: Seoul intelligence |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=9 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910201948/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j2zReXndGtxbEQ9gsY3SWxImKHHw |archive-date=10 September 2008}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported on 9 September that Kim was "very ill and most likely suffered a stroke a few weeks ago, but United States intelligence authorities do not think his death is imminent".<ref>{{Cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://english.kbs.co.kr/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216142545/http://english.kbs.co.kr/news/newsview_sub.php?menu=8&key=2008091021|title=KBS Global|archivedate=16 December 2008|website=english.kbs.co.kr}}</ref> The [[BBC]] noted that the North Korean government denied these reports, stating that Kim's health problems were "not serious enough to threaten his life",<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/09/nkorea.kim|title=Mystery has surrounded Kim Jong Il|publisher=CNN|date=10 September 2008|access-date=7 May 2010|archive-date=1 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090801185744/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/09/nkorea.kim/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7607513.stm|title=N Korea insists Kim is not unwell|work=[[BBC News]]|date=10 September 2008|access-date=5 January 2010|archive-date=19 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219132754/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7607513.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> although they did confirm that he had suffered a stroke on 15 August.<ref name="time-stroke">{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1840419,00.html |title=N Korea: Kim Had Brain Surgery |author=Jae-Soon Chang |magazine=Time |agency=Associated Press |date=11 September 2008 |access-date=11 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913235534/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0%2C8599%2C1840419%2C00.html |archive-date=13 September 2008}}</ref> [[File:Kim Jong-il 2011-5.jpg|thumb|left|Kim at a meeting during his visit with Dmitry Medvedev in August 2011]] Japan's [[Kyodo News]] agency reported on 14 September, that "Kim collapsed on 14 August due to stroke or a [[cerebral hemorrhage]], and that Beijing dispatched five military doctors at the request of Pyongyang. Kim will require a long period of rest and rehabilitation before he fully recovers and has complete command of his limbs again, as with typical stroke victims". Japan's ''[[Mainichi Shimbun]]'' claimed Kim had occasionally lost consciousness since April.<ref>{{cite news|title=N. Korean Kim Having Trouble Using Limbs|url=http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=%2FST%2Fdb%2Fread.php%3Fidx%3D7245|newspaper=The Seoul Times|access-date=19 December 2011|archive-date=30 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730112944/http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=%2FST%2Fdb%2Fread.php%3Fidx%3D7245|url-status=live}}</ref> Japan's ''[[Tokyo Shimbun]]'' on 15 September, added that Kim was staying at the Bongwha State Guest House. He was apparently conscious "but he needs some time to recuperate from the recent stroke, with some parts of his hands and feet paralyzed". It cited Chinese sources which claimed that one cause for the stroke could have been stress brought about by the United States delay to remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://asia.news.yahoo.com/080915/4/3p21c.html |title=Kim Jong Il Out of Public View as Major Holiday Passes |access-date=16 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216141736/http://asia.news.yahoo.com/080915/4/3p21c.html |archive-date=16 December 2008 }}. Yahoo! News. 15 September 2008.</ref> On 19 October, North Korea reportedly ordered its diplomats to stay near their embassies to await "an important message", according to Japan's ''[[Yomiuri Shimbun]]'', setting off renewed speculation about the health of the ailing leader.<ref name="kore_NKDi">{{Cite web | title = NK Diplomats on Standby for Important Announcement | first = Michael | last = Ha | work=[[The Korea Times]] | date = 19 October 2008 | access-date = 12 April 2017 | url = http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/10/116_32932.html | archive-date = 12 April 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170412144143/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/10/116_32932.html | url-status = live }}</ref> By 29 October 2008, reports stated Kim suffered a serious setback and had been taken back to the hospital.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/world-news/asia-pacific/report-sparks-more-speculation-on-kim-jong-ils-health-26488213.html|title=Report sparks more speculation on Kim Jong Il's health|work=Irish Independent|date=29 October 2008|access-date=26 May 2016|archive-date=25 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625062801/http://www.independent.ie/world-news/asia-pacific/report-sparks-more-speculation-on-kim-jong-ils-health-26488213.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' reported that Japanese Prime Minister [[Taro Aso]], on 28 October 2008, stated in a [[parliamentary session]] that Kim had been hospitalized: "His condition is not so good. However, I don't think he is totally incapable of making decisions". Aso further said a French [[neurosurgeon]] was aboard a plane for Beijing, en route to North Korea. Further, Kim Sung-ho, director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed parliamentary session in [[Seoul]] that "Kim appeared to be recovering quickly enough to start performing his daily duties".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/world/asia/29kim.html|title=Kim Jong-Il Hospitalized but at Helm, Japan Says|work=[[The New York Times]]|first=Norimitsu|last=Onishi|date=29 October 2008|access-date=7 May 2010|archive-date=16 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416132316/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/world/asia/29kim.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[The Dong-a Ilbo]]'' newspaper reported "a serious problem" with Kim's health. Japan's [[Fuji Television]] network reported that Kim's eldest son, [[Kim Jong-nam|Kim Jong Nam]], traveled to Paris to hire a neurosurgeon for his father, and showed footage where the surgeon boarded flight CA121 bound for Pyongyang from Beijing on 24 October. The French weekly ''[[Le Point]]'' identified him as Francois-Xavier Roux, [[neurosurgery]] director of Paris' Sainte-Anne Hospital, but Roux himself stated he was in Beijing for several days and not North Korea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/monde/asie/0,,4141229,00-le-chirurgien-francais-dement-tout-visite-a-kim-jong-ii-.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081101025832/http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/monde/asie/0%2C%2C4141229%2C00-le-chirurgien-francais-dement-tout-visite-a-kim-jong-ii-.html |archive-date= 1 November 2008 |title=LCI, Corée du Nord: Le chirurgien français dément toute visite à Kim Jong II |url-status=dead}}</ref> On 19 December 2011, Roux confirmed that Kim suffered a debilitating stroke in 2008 and was treated by himself and other French doctors at [[Pyongyang]]'s Red Cross Hospital. Roux said Kim suffered few lasting effects.<ref>[http://www.philstar.com/article.aspx?articleid=760393&publicationsubcategoryid=200 French doctor confirms Kim had stroke in 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604030538/http://www.philstar.com/article.aspx?articleid=760393&publicationsubcategoryid=200 |date=4 June 2016 }} (Associated Press via PhilStar), 19 December 2011.</ref> On 5 November 2008, the North's Korean Central News Agency published 2 photos showing Kim posing with dozens of [[Korean People's Army]] (KPA) soldiers on a visit to military Unit 2200 and sub-unit of Unit 534. Shown with his usual [[bouffant]] hairstyle, with his trademark sunglasses and a white winter parka, Kim stood in front of trees with autumn foliage and a red-and-white banner.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://afp.google.com/media/ALeqM5ikrDW2BrCj5Y3MTang70ZE_smGwQ?size=s |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216143354/http://afp.google.com/media/ALeqM5ikrDW2BrCj5Y3MTang70ZE_smGwQ?size=s |title=JPG image|via=Google News |agency=Agence France-Presse|archivedate=16 December 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|agency=Agence France-Presse |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gBLJIU2BX0waPQyOREz9HYBInH8g |title=French brain surgeon admits visiting Pyongyang: report |date=4 November 2008 |access-date=11 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091228010936/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gBLJIU2BX0waPQyOREz9HYBInH8g |archive-date=28 December 2009}}</ref><ref>JPG image, archived from{{cite web|url=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/04/nkorea.kim.ap/art.korea.ap.jpg |title=cdn.turner.com (CNN, 2008) |access-date=5 November 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081105154112/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/04/nkorea.kim.ap/art.korea.ap.jpg |archive-date=5 November 2008 }} or{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/05/xin_472110505145550016711.jpg |title=news.xinhuanet.com |access-date=5 November 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218005538/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/05/xin_472110505145550016711.jpg |archive-date=18 December 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/05/content_10310320.htm|title=Kim Jong Il watches army training|agency=Xinhua News Agency|date=5 November 2008|access-date=11 March 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311071223/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/05/content_10310320.htm|archive-date=11 March 2009}}</ref> ''[[The Times]]'' questioned the authenticity of at least one of these photos.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5101905.ece|title=Kim Jong Il: digital trickery or an amazing recovery from a stroke?|work=The Times|location=London|date=7 November 2008|access-date=7 May 2010|first=Fiona|last=Hamilton|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081108012129/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5101905.ece|url-status=dead |archive-date=8 November 2008}}</ref> In November 2008, Japan's [[Tokyo Broadcasting System|TBS TV network]] reported that Kim had suffered a second stroke in October, which "affected the movement of his left arm and leg and also his ability to speak".<ref name="reuters.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4AA0GS20081111|title=Kim Jong-il had possible second stroke|work=Reuters|date=11 November 2008|access-date=1 July 2017|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109012654/https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4AA0GS20081111|url-status=live}}</ref> However, South Korea's intelligence agency rejected this report.<ref name="reuters.com"/> In response to the rumors regarding Kim's health and supposed loss of power, in April 2009, North Korea released a video showing Kim visiting factories and other places around the country between November and December 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7988096.stm|title=Video of Kim Jong-il|work=[[BBC News]]|date=7 April 2009|access-date=19 December 2011|archive-date=6 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106111755/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7988096.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2010, [[United States diplomatic cables leak|leaked diplomatic cables]] purportedly attested that Kim suffered from [[epilepsy]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/8166248/WikiLeaks-US-referred-to-Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad-as-Hitler.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/8166248/WikiLeaks-US-referred-to-Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad-as-Hitler.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=WikiLeaks: US referred to Ahmadinejad as 'Hitler'|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=28 November 2010|access-date=30 December 2010|location=London |first=Peter|last=Hutchison}}{{cbignore}}</ref> According to ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', Kim was a [[Chain smoking|chain-smoker]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Kim Jong-il – the high life of an evil dictator|first=Janet|last=Fife-Yeomans|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/kim-jong-il-the-high-life-of-an-evil-dictator/story-e6freuy9-1226226187550|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=20 December 2011|access-date=20 December 2011|quote=When North Korea's Dear Leader, the chain-smoking Kim Jong-il, 69, died on Saturday|archive-date=7 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107025927/http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/kim-jong-il-the-high-life-of-an-evil-dictator/story-e6freuy9-1226226187550|url-status=live}}</ref> [[File:Grand People's Study House 08.JPG|thumb|Portraits of Kim Jong Il and [[Kim Il Sung|his father]] in the [[Grand People's Study House]] in [[Pyongyang]]]] === Successor === Kim's three sons and his brother-in-law, along with [[O Kuk-ryol|O Kuk Ryol]], an army general, had been noted as possible successors, but the North Korean government had for a time been wholly silent on this matter.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSSEO30011320080910|title=Possible successors to North Korea's Kim|work=Reuters|date=10 September 2008|access-date=1 July 2017|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308131335/https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSSEO30011320080910|url-status=live}}</ref> Kim Yong Hyun, a political expert at the Institute for North Korean Studies at [[Seoul]]'s [[Dongguk University]], said in 2007: "Even the North Korean establishment would not advocate a continuation of the family [[dynasty]] at this point".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indiaenews.com/asia/20070214/39480.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209173116/http://www.indiaenews.com/asia/20070214/39480.htm|archive-date=9 February 2008 |title=North Korea silent over Kim Jong Il successor|publisher=Indiaenews.com|date=14 February 2007|url-status=usurped|access-date=28 December 2011}}</ref> Kim's eldest son Kim Jong-Nnam was earlier believed to be the designated heir but he appeared to have fallen out of favor after being arrested at [[Narita International Airport]] near Tokyo in 2001 where he was caught attempting to enter Japan on a [[fake passport]] to visit [[Tokyo Disneyland]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Transcript: The World Today: Japan deports man claiming to be Kim Jong-Nam |date=4 May 2001 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/stories/s289624.htm |website=ABC.net.au |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429092232/http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/stories/s289624.htm |archive-date=29 April 2007}} See also family tree: {{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi/image_maps/07/1171000000/1171617765/img/north_korea416x275.gif |title=Family tree |website=news.bbc.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921112727/http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi/image_maps/07/1171000000/1171617765/img/north_korea416x275.gif |archive-date=21 September 2008}}</ref> On 2 June 2009, it was reported that Kim's youngest son, [[Kim Jong Un]], was to be North Korea's next leader.<ref>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jun/02/kim-jong-il-names-son-successor|title=North Korean leader Kim Jong-il 'names youngest son as successor'|work=The Guardian|date=2 June 2009|access-date=28 December 2011|location=London|archive-date=16 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016211014/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jun/02/kim-jong-il-names-son-successor|url-status=live}}</ref> Like his father and grandfather, he has also been given an official [[sobriquet]], The Brilliant Comrade.<ref>{{cite news|title=North Korea: A 'Brilliant Comrade'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/world/asia/13briefs-NKOREAKIM.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 June 2009|access-date=13 June 2009|archive-date=1 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501095148/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/world/asia/13briefs-NKOREAKIM.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Prior to his death, it had been reported that Kim was expected to officially designate the son as his successor in 2012.{{sfn|Lankov|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FHpYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA144 144]}} === Re-election as leader === On 9 April 2009, Kim was re-elected as chairman of the National Defence Commission<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012061010/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2009/200904/news09/20090409-04ee.html |archive-date=12 October 2014 |url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2009/200904/news09/20090409-04ee.html|title=Kim Jong Il Elected Chairman of NDC of DPRK|publisher=[[Korean Central News Agency]]|date=9 April 2009|access-date=11 March 2010}}</ref> and made an appearance at the Supreme People's Assembly. This was the first time Kim was seen in public since August 2008. He was unanimously re-elected and given a standing ovation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7991151.stm|title=N. Korea leader appears in public|work=[[BBC News]]|date=9 April 2009|access-date=28 December 2011|archive-date=21 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421013146/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7991151.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> On 28 September 2010, Kim was re-elected as General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.<ref name="bbc._Nort">{{cite news | title = North Korea's Kim paves way for family succession | work=[[BBC News]] | date = 28 September 2010 | access-date = 12 April 2017 | url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11426284 | archive-date = 12 April 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170412224738/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11426284 | url-status = live }}</ref> === 2010 and 2011 foreign visits === [[File:Dmitry Medvedev and Kim Jong-il (2011-08-24) 07.jpg|thumb|Kim with [[Russian President]] [[Dmitry Medvedev]] in [[Sosnovy Bor (garrison)|Sosnovy-Bor Military garrison]], [[Zaigrayevsky District]] [[Buriatya]] on 24 August 2011]] Kim reportedly visited the People's Republic of China in May 2010. He entered the country via his [[North Korean leaders' trains|personal train]] on 3 May and stayed in a hotel in [[Dalian]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8657688.stm|work=[[BBC News]]|title=North Korea's Kim 'visits China'|date=3 May 2010|access-date=7 May 2010|archive-date=7 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107165040/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8657688.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2010, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs [[Kurt M. Campbell|Kurt Campbell]] told South Korean officials that Kim had only three years to live, according to medical information that had been compiled.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kim Jong-il 'Has 3 Years to Live'|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/03/17/2010031700811.html|date=17 March 2010|access-date=5 June 2023|website=[[The Chosun Ilbo]]|language=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111204043655/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/03/17/2010031700811.html |archive-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> Kim travelled to China again in August 2010, this time with his son, fueling speculation at the time that he was ready to hand over power to his son, [[Kim Jong Un]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/26/north-korean-leader-china|work=[[BBC News]]|title=North Korean leader Kim Jong-il 'visiting China with his son'|date=26 August 2010|access-date=28 August 2010|location=London|first1=Justin|last1=McCurry|first2=Jonathan|last2=Watts|archive-date=15 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915193505/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/26/north-korean-leader-china|url-status=live}}</ref> He returned to China again in May 2011, marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between China and the DPRK.<ref>{{cite web|author=颜筱箐|url=http://www.china.org.cn/video/2011-05/27/content_22651894.htm|title=DPRK leader Kim Jong-Il visits China|publisher=China.org.cn|date=27 May 2011|access-date=19 December 2011|archive-date=7 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107040626/http://www.china.org.cn/video/2011-05/27/content_22651894.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In late August 2011, he traveled by train to the Russian Far East to meet with President [[Dmitry Medvedev]] for unspecified talks.<ref>Schwirtz, M. "Kim Il-Jong Visits Russia to Meet with President Medvedev", ''The New York Times''. 21 August 2011.</ref> === Late 2011 === There were speculations that the visits of Kim abroad in 2010 and 2011 were a sign of his improving health and a possible slowdown in succession might follow. After the visit to Russia, Kim appeared in a military parade in Pyongyang on 9 September, accompanied by Kim Jong Un.<ref>{{cite web|last=Laurence|first=Jeremy|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-korea-north-parade-idUSTRE7881UC20110909|title=North Korea military parade shows leader's succession on course|work=Reuters|date=9 September 2011|access-date=19 April 2013|archive-date=3 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103020452/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-korea-north-parade-idUSTRE7881UC20110909|url-status=live}}</ref> == Death == {{main|Death and state funeral of Kim Jong Il}} [[File:Kim Jong il Portrait.jpg|thumb|An official portrait of Kim, issued after his death]] It was reported that Kim had died of a suspected [[heart attack]] on 17 December 2011 at 8:30{{nbsp}}am while [[North Korean leaders' trains|travelling by train]] to an area outside [[Pyongyang]].<ref name="bbcdeath">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16239693|title=N Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies|date=19 December 2011|access-date=19 December 2011|work=[[BBC News]]|quote=died on Saturday|archive-date=17 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717155102/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16239693|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ABC News - 19Dec2011 - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dead">{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-19/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-il-dead/3738526?WT.svl=news0|title=North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dead|date=19 December 2011|publisher=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|access-date=19 December 2011|archive-date=13 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113144104/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-19/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-il-dead/3738526?WT.svl=news0|url-status=live}}</ref> He was succeeded by his youngest son [[Kim Jong Un]], who was hailed by the Korean Central News Agency as the "Great Successor".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kim Jong Il's youngest son dubbed 'great successor'|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna45719296|date=19 December 2011|access-date=5 June 2023|website=NBC News |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924002613/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45719296 |archive-date=24 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/12/18/kim-jong-ils-son-kim-jong-un-poised-to-lead-north-korea|title=Kim Jong-il's son Kim Jong-un poised to lead North Korea|work=National Post|location=Canada|date=10 October 2010|access-date=20 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Demick|first=Barbara|title=Kim Jong Il death: Powerful uncle could overshadow Kim's son|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/12/kim-jong-un-overshadow-uncle-kim-jong-il-dead.html|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=19 December 2011|access-date=19 December 2011|archive-date=8 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108090515/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/12/kim-jong-un-overshadow-uncle-kim-jong-il-dead.html|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), during his death a fierce snowstorm "paused" and "the sky glowed red above the sacred [[Mount Paektu]]" and the ice on a famous lake also cracked so loud that it seemed to "shake the Heavens and the Earth".<ref name="bbcskyglow">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16297811|title=Kim Jong-il death: 'Nature mourns' N Korea leader|publisher=BBC|date=22 December 2011|access-date=28 December 2011|archive-date=17 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917104103/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16297811|url-status=live}}</ref> Kim's funeral took place on 28 December in Pyongyang, with a mourning period lasting until the following day. South Korea's military was immediately put on alert after the announcement and its National Security Council convened for an emergency meeting, out of concern that political jockeying in North Korea could destabilise the region. Asian stock markets fell soon after the announcement, due to similar concerns.<ref name="bbcdeath"/> On 12 January 2012, North Korea called Kim the "eternal leader" and announced that his body would be preserved and displayed at Pyongyang's [[Kumsusan Memorial Palace]]. Officials also announced plans to install statues, portraits, and "towers to his immortality" across the country.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57358107/kim-jong-il-to-be-enshrined-as-eternal-leader/|title=Kim Jong Il to be enshrined as 'eternal leader'|publisher=[[CBS News]]|access-date=12 January 2012|archive-date=8 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008084514/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kim-jong-il-to-be-enshrined-as-eternal-leader/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/13/world/asia/north-korea-to-display-dead-leaders-body.html|title=North Korea Plans Permanent Display of Kim Jong-il's Body|first=Choe|last=Sang-hun|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 January 2012|access-date=25 February 2017|archive-date=24 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524222007/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/13/world/asia/north-korea-to-display-dead-leaders-body.html|url-status=live}}</ref> His birthday of 16 February was declared "the greatest auspicious holiday of the nation" and was named the Day of the Shining Star.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kim Jong-il to be put on display|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-13/north-korea-to-embalm-kim-jong-il/3770662/?site=sydney|access-date=12 January 2012|newspaper=ABC Sydney|date=13 January 2012|archive-date=15 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115021744/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-13/north-korea-to-embalm-kim-jong-il/3770662/?site=sydney|url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2012, on what would have been his 71st birthday, Kim was posthumously made [[Dae Wonsu]] (usually translated as ''[[Generalissimo]]'', literally [[Grand Marshal]]), the nation's top military rank. He had been named [[Wonsu (North Korea)|Wonsu]] (Marshal) in 1992 when North Korean founder Kim Il Sung was promoted to Dae Wonsu.<ref>{{cite news |title=North Korea's Kim Jong Un adds 'marshal' to list of official titles, cementing power over military |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-adds-marshal-to-list-of-official-titles-cementing-power-over-military/ |access-date=2 April 2018 |publisher=[[CBS News]] |agency=AP |date=18 July 2012 |archive-date=2 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402231246/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-adds-marshal-to-list-of-official-titles-cementing-power-over-military/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Also in February 2012, the North Korean government created the [[Order of Kim Jong Il]] in his honor and awarded it to 132 individuals for services in building a "thriving socialist nation" and for increasing defense capabilities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/9080823/North-Korea-awards-132-medals-to-commemorate-Kim-Jong-ils-birthday.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/9080823/North-Korea-awards-132-medals-to-commemorate-Kim-Jong-ils-birthday.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=North Korea awards 132 medals to commemorate Kim Jong-il's birthday|work=The Telegraph|date=14 February 2012|access-date=11 August 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> == Personal life == === Family === {{Further|Kim family (North Korea)}} [[File:Kimilsungia and Kimjongilia.JPG|thumb|Kim Jong Il and his father Kim Il Sung]] There is no official information available about Kim Jong Il's marital history, but he is believed to have been officially married twice and to have had three [[mistress (lover)|mistresses]].<ref name="The Women in Kim's Life">{{cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501030630/kim_women.html |title=The Women in Kim's Life |access-date=10 July 2010|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710141001/http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501030630/kim_women.html |archive-date=10 July 2010 |publisher= Time}}</ref> He had three known sons: [[Kim Jong-nam|Kim Jong Nam]], [[Kim Jong-chul|Kim Jong Chul]] and [[Kim Jong Un]]. His two known daughters are [[Kim Sol-song|Kim Sol Song]] and [[Kim Yo Jong]].<ref name=KJD8812>{{cite news|title=Kim Jong-un's sister is having a ball|url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2957573|access-date=8 August 2012|newspaper=[[Korea JoongAng Daily]]|date=8 August 2012|author=Lee Young-jong|author2=Kim Hee-jin|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811005825/http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2957573|archive-date=11 August 2012}}</ref><ref name="theseoultimes.com">{{cite web |url=http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=%2FST%2Fdb%2Fread.php%3Fidx%3D3052|title=Kim Jong-Il's Daughter Serves as His Secretary|publisher=Theseoultimes.com|access-date=28 December 2011|archive-date=2 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602112500/http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=%2FST%2Fdb%2Fread.php%3Fidx%3D3052|url-status=live}}</ref> Kim's first wife, [[Hong Il-chon|Hong Il Chon]], was the daughter of a [[martyr]] who died during the [[Korean War]]. She was handpicked by his father and married to him in 1966. They had a daughter called [[Kim Hye-kyung|Kim Hye Kyung]],{{sfn|Breen|2012|p=64}} who was born in 1968. Soon afterwards, they divorced in 1969. Kim's first mistress, [[Song Hye-rim|Song Hye Rim]], was a star of North Korean films. She was already married to another man and with a child when they met.<ref name="NK defector">{{Cite web |first=John M. |last=Glionna |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/world-now/story/2011-12-22/north-korean-defector-says-kim-jong-il-stole-her-life |title=North Korean defector says Kim Jong Il stole her life |date=22 December 2011 |access-date=5 June 2023 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615190642/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/12/kim-jong-ils-death-north-korean-defectors-yodeok-prison.html |archive-date=15 June 2018}}</ref> Kim is reported to have forced her husband to divorce her. This relationship, which started in 1970, was not officially recognized. They had one son, Kim Jong Nam (1971–2017), who was Kim Jong Il's eldest son. Kim kept both the relationship and the child a secret (even from his father) until he ascended to power in 1994.<ref name="NK defector"/><ref name="Kim's Secret Family">{{cite web |title=Kim's Secret Family |url=http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501030630/story.html |access-date=26 June 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030626013857/http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501030630/story.html |archive-date=26 June 2003 |url-status=dead |work=Time Asia |date=23 June 2003}}</ref> However, after years of estrangement, Song is believed to have died in Moscow in the [[Central Clinical Hospital]] in 2002.<ref name="Martin">{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Bradley K.|title=Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|year=2004|location=New York|pages=693–694 |quote=Although a flurry of press dispatches at the time her sister defected claimed that Hye-rim had gone with Hye-rang, in fact, [Hye-rim] continued to live in Moscow until she died in May 2002.|isbn=978-0312323226}}</ref> Kim's official wife, [[Kim Young-sook|Kim Young Sook]], was the daughter of a high-ranking military official. His father Kim Il Sung handpicked her to marry his son.<ref name="The Women in Kim's Life"/> The two were estranged for some years before Kim's death. Kim had a daughter from this marriage, Kim Sol Song (born 1974).<ref name="theseoultimes.com"/> His second mistress, [[Ko Yong-hui|Ko Yong Hui]], was a Japanese-born ethnic Korean and a dancer. She had taken over the role of [[First Lady]] until her death{{spnd}}reportedly of cancer{{spnd}}in 2004. They had two sons, Kim Jong Chul (in 1981) and Kim Jong Un, also "Jong Woon" or "Jong Woong" (in 1983).<ref name="Kim's Secret Family"/><ref name="Kim Jong-un's Birthday">{{Cite web|title=N.Korea Heir Apparent 'Given More Auspicious Birthday'|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/12/11/2009121100429.html |date=11 December 2009|access-date=5 June 2023 |website=[[The Chosun Ilbo]] |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110821040624/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/12/11/2009121100429.html |archive-date=21 August 2011}}</ref> They also had a daughter, Kim Yo Jong, who was about 23 years old in 2012.<ref name=KJD8812/><ref name="Kim Yo Jong">{{cite web|title=Kim Yo Jong|url=https://nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com/kji-2/kim-yo-jong/|publisher=nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com|access-date=8 August 2012|date=11 July 2012|archive-date=2 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120802040736/http://nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com/kji-2/kim-yo-jong/|url-status=live}}</ref> After Ko's death, Kim lived with [[Kim Ok]], his third mistress, who had served as his personal secretary since the 1980s. She "virtually act[ed] as North Korea's first lady" and frequently accompanied Kim on his visits to military bases and in meetings with visiting foreign dignitaries. She traveled with Kim on a secretive trip to China in January 2006, where she was received by Chinese officials as Kim's wife.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,205287,00.html |title=Report: Kim Jong Il Living With Former Secretary |publisher=Fox News Channel |date=24 July 2006 |access-date=28 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025182925/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2006/07/24/report-kim-jong-il-living-with-former-secretary/ |archive-date= 25 October 2014}}</ref> According to Michael Breen, author of the book ''Kim Jong Il: North Korea's Dear Leader'', the women intimately linked to Kim never acquired any power or influence of consequence. As he explains, their roles were limited to that of romance and domesticity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/24/world/la-fg-north-korea-women-20111225|title=Many women were linked to Kim Jong Il, but few had any influence|first=John M.|last=Glionna|date=24 December 2011|via=LA Times|access-date=28 May 2015|archive-date=1 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130401034440/http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/24/world/la-fg-north-korea-women-20111225|url-status=live}}</ref> He had a younger sister, [[Kim Kyong-hui|Kim Kyong Hui]]. She was married to [[Jang Sung-taek|Jang Sung Taek]], who was executed in December 2013 in [[Pyongyang]], after being charged with treason and corruption.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25359939|title=North Korean leader's uncle 'executed over corruption'|date=12 December 2013|access-date=12 December 2013|publisher=BBC|archive-date=1 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101203443/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25359939|url-status=live}}</ref> === Personality === [[File:Kim Jong-Il.jpg|thumb|left|Kim in 2000]] Like his father, Kim had a [[fear of flying]]<ref name="fp_phobia">{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/05/04/profiles_in_phobia|title=Profiles in Phobia|last=Swift|first=Andrew|date=4 May 2010|work=[[Foreign Policy]]|access-date=6 May 2010|archive-date=8 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100508114145/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/05/04/profiles_in_phobia|url-status=live}}</ref> and always travelled by [[North Korean leaders' trains|private armored train]] for state visits to Russia and China.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/0506/Secret-China-visit-All-aboard-Kim-Jong-il-s-luxury-train|title=Secret China visit: All aboard Kim Jong-il's luxury train|author=Stephen Kurczy|work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|date=6 May 2010|access-date=5 April 2013|archive-date=2 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402210927/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/0506/Secret-China-visit-All-aboard-Kim-Jong-il-s-luxury-train|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[BBC]] reported that [[Konstantin Pulikovsky]], a Russian emissary who travelled with Kim across Russia by train, told reporters that Kim had live [[lobster]]s air-lifted to the train every day and ate them with silver chopsticks.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1907197.stm|title=Profile: Kim Jong-il|work=[[BBC News]]|date=16 January 2009|access-date=28 December 2011|archive-date=27 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227161515/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1907197.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Kim was said to be a huge film fan, owning a collection of more than 20,000 [[video tape]]s and [[DVD]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=North Korean leader loves Hennessey, Bond movies |first=Wolf |last=Blitzer |date=8 January 2003 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/08/wbr.kim.jong.il/ |access-date=5 June 2023 |website=CNN |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412165923/http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/08/wbr.kim.jong.il/ |archive-date=12 April 2019}}</ref><ref name="BBC News 19 December 2011">{{cite news|last=Savage|first=Mark|title=Kim Jong-il: The cinephile despot|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16245174|date=19 December 2011|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=19 December 2014|archive-date=19 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219060447/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16245174|url-status=live}}</ref> His reported favourite movie franchises included ''[[James Bond]]'', ''[[Friday the 13th (franchise)|Friday the 13th]]'', ''[[Rambo (film series)|Rambo]]'', ''[[Godzilla (series)|Godzilla]]'', ''[[Otoko wa Tsurai yo]]'' and [[Hong Kong action cinema]],<ref name="cinephile">{{cite news|last=Savage|first=Mark|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16245174|title=Kim Jong-il: The cinephile despot|work=[[BBC News]]|date=19 December 2011|access-date=30 November 2014|archive-date=19 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219060447/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16245174|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The madness of Kim Jong Il|first=Philip|last=Gourevitch|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2003/nov/02/features.magazine37|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=2 November 2003|access-date=19 December 2011|location=London}}</ref> with [[Sean Connery]] and [[Elizabeth Taylor]] his favourite male and female actors.<ref name="cinephile"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/front2453662.077777778.html|title=Movie-buff Kim Jong-Il seeks joint foreign film ventures|publisher=Worldtribune.com|access-date=28 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105231131/http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/front2453662.077777778.html|archive-date=5 January 2012}}</ref> Kim was also said to have been a fan of [[Ealing comedies]], inspired by their emphasis on team spirit and a mobilised proletariat.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-16245174|title=Kim Jong-il: The cinephile despot|work=[[BBC News]]|date=19 December 2011|access-date=20 September 2020|archive-date=19 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119134647/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-16245174|url-status=live}}</ref> Kim oversaw the production of ''[[The Flower Girl]]'', a film which also became immensely popular in China.<ref name=":122">{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Jie |title=Cinematic Guerillas: Propaganda, Projectionists, and Audiences in Socialist China |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |year=2023 |isbn=9780231206273 |pages=200–201}}</ref> He authored ''[[On the Art of the Cinema]]''. In 1978, on Kim's orders South Korean film director [[Shin Sang-ok]] and his actress wife [[Choi Eun-hee]] [[Abduction of Shin Sang-ok and Choi Eun-hee|were kidnapped]] in order to build a North Korean film industry.<ref>{{cite news|last=Thomson|first=Mike|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2821221.stm|title=Kidnapped by North Korea|work=[[BBC News]]|date=5 March 2003|access-date=28 December 2011|archive-date=27 May 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060527172526/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2821221.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2006, he was involved in the production of the [[Juche]]-based movie ''[[The Schoolgirl's Diary]]'', which depicted the life of a young girl whose parents are scientists, with a [[Korean Central News Agency|KCNA]] news report stating that Kim "improved its script and guided its production".<ref>[http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2006/200608/news08/11.htm#5 "Film 'Diary of a Girl Student', Close Companion of Life"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901094022/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2006/200608/news08/11.htm |date= 1 September 2006 }}, Korea News Service, 10 August 2006.</ref> Although Kim enjoyed many foreign forms of entertainment, according to former [[Supreme Guard Command|bodyguard]] [[Yodok concentration camp#Prisoners (witnesses)|Lee Young Kuk]], he refused to consume any food or drink not produced in North Korea, with the exception of wine from France.<ref name="supremo">{{cite news|last=Macintyre|first=Donald|title=The Supremo in His Labyrinth|magazine=Time|date=18 February 2002|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,201976-1,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613215447/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,201976-1,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 June 2010|access-date=9 June 2010}}</ref> His former chef [[Kenji Fujimoto]], however, has stated that Kim sometimes sent him around the world to purchase a variety of foreign [[delicacy|delicacies]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200406/200406270015.html |title=Kim Jong-il Satisfies his Gourmet Appetite while his People Starve |access-date=30 August 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050311193942/http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200406/200406270015.html |archive-date=11 March 2005 }}. ''[[The Chosun Ilbo]]''. 27 June 2004.</ref> Kim reportedly enjoyed basketball. Former [[United States Secretary of State]] [[Madeleine Albright]] ended her summit with Kim by presenting him with a basketball signed by [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] legend [[Michael Jordan]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The oddest fan |first=Mark |last=Zeigler |date=29 October 2006 |url=http://legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/world/20061029-9999-1n29kim.html |website=San Diego Union-Tribune |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322073642/http://legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/world/20061029-9999-1n29kim.html |archive-date=22 March 2016}}</ref> His official biography also claims that Kim composed six operas and enjoyed staging elaborate [[musical theater|musicals]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/783967.stm|title=Asia–Pacific | Profile: Kim Jong-il|work=[[BBC News]]|date=9 June 2000|access-date=28 December 2011|archive-date=23 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090523224903/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/783967.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> [[File:Laika ac Samijyon (6900265643).jpg|thumb|Kim Jong Il and his father Kim Il Sung]] United States Special Envoy for the Korean Peace Talks, Charles Kartman, who was involved in the 2000 Madeleine Albright summit with Kim, characterised Kim as a reasonable man in negotiations, to the point, but with a sense of humor and personally attentive to the people he was hosting.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kim/interviews/kartman.html|title=Interview: Charles Kartman|work=[[Frontline (U.S. TV series)|Frontline]]|publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service]]|date=20 February 2003|access-date=14 April 2010|archive-date=30 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330145805/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kim/interviews/kartman.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, psychological evaluations conclude that Kim's [[antisocial personality disorder|antisocial]] features, such as his fearlessness in the face of sanctions and punishment, served to make negotiations extraordinarily difficult.{{sfn|Coolidge|Segal|2009|p=200}} The field of psychology has long been fascinated with the personality assessment of dictators, a notion that resulted in an extensive personality evaluation of Kim. The report, compiled by Frederick L. Coolidge and Daniel L. Segal (with the assistance of a South Korean psychiatrist considered an expert on Kim's behavior), concluded that the "big six" group of personality disorders shared by dictators [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Joseph Stalin]] and [[Saddam Hussein]] ([[Sadistic personality disorder|sadistic]], [[Paranoid personality disorder|paranoid]], [[Antisocial personality disorder|antisocial]], [[Narcissistic personality disorder|narcissistic]], [[Schizoid personality disorder|schizoid]] and [[Schizotypal personality disorder|schizotypal]]) were also shared by Kim{{spnd}}coinciding primarily with the profile of Saddam Hussein.{{sfn|Coolidge|Segal|2009|p=199}} The evaluation found that Kim appeared to pride himself on North Korea's independence, despite the extreme hardships it appears to place on the North Korean people{{spnd}}an attribute appearing to emanate from his antisocial personality pattern.{{sfn|Coolidge|Segal|2009|p=200}} Defectors claimed that Kim had 17 different palaces and residences all over North Korea, including a private resort near [[Baekdu Mountain]], a seaside lodge in the city of [[Wonsan]], and [[Ryongsong Residence]], a palace complex northeast of Pyongyang surrounded with multiple fence lines, [[bunker]]s and anti-aircraft batteries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kim Jong Il, Where He Sleeps and Where He Works |website=[[Daily NK]] |url=https://www.dailynk.com/english/kim-jong-il-where-he-sleeps-and-wh/ |date=15 March 2005 |access-date=5 June 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516044422/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk02300&num=83 |archive-date=16 May 2013}}</ref> === Finances === According to a 2010 report in the ''[[Sunday Telegraph]]'', Kim had US$4{{nbsp}}billion on deposit in European banks in case he ever needed to flee North Korea. The ''Sunday Telegraph'' reported that most of the money was in banks in [[Luxembourg]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Kim Jong-il keeps $4bn 'emergency fund' in European banks |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/7442188/Kim-Jong-il-keeps-4bn-emergency-fund-in-European-banks.html |first=Oliver |last=Arlow |newspaper=Sunday Telegraph |date=14 March 2010 |access-date=5 June 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522045226/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/7442188/Kim-Jong-il-keeps-4bn-emergency-fund-in-European-banks.html |archive-date=22 May 2018}}</ref> == Official titles == {{Main|List of Kim Jong Il's titles}}Kim received numerous titles during his rule. In April 2009, [[North Korea's constitution]] was amended to refer to him and his successors as the "supreme leader of the DPRK".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8279830.stm|title=N Korea constitution bolsters Kim|last=McGivering|first=Jill|date=29 September 2009|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=7 May 2010|archive-date=24 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224024810/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8279830.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:Statue at Mansudae Art Studio.JPG|thumb|Equestrian statues of younger versions of Kim Jong Il (right) and Kim Il Sung, Pyongyang]] * Party Center of the WPK and Member, Central Committee of the WPK (1970s)<ref name="sahwe">{{cite book |last=전 |first=영선 |script-title=ko:다시 고쳐 쓴 북한의 사회와 문화 |trans-title=A New View of North Korean Society and Culture |publisher=역락 |year=2006 |isbn=978-89-5556-491-4}}</ref> * Dear Leader (''Chinaehaneun Jidoja'') (late 1970s–1994)<ref name="sahwe"/> * Member, Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK * Secretary, [[Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea]] (1974–1997) * [[Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea|Presidium]] member, WPK Central Committee (1980–2011) * Supreme Commander, [[Korean People's Army]] (25 December 1991{{spnd}}17 December 2011)<ref name=":0" /> * Marshal of the DPRK (1993–2011)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/18/kim-jong-un-marshal-north-korea|title=North Korea's Kim Jong-un named marshal|last=McCurry|first=Justin|date=18 July 2012|work=The Guardian|access-date=6 January 2020|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=2 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802220906/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/18/kim-jong-un-marshal-north-korea|url-status=live}}</ref> * Chairman, [[National Defence Commission]] (1993–2011)<ref name="nkle_20th" /> * Great Leader (''Widehan Ryongdoja'') (July 1994{{spnd}}December 2011)<ref name="sahwe"/> * General Secretary, [[Workers' Party of Korea]] (October 1997{{spnd}}December 2011)<ref name="bbc._Nort" /> * Chairman, [[Central Military Commission (DPRK)]] (October 1997{{spnd}}December 2011) * Eternal Leader (posthumous) (January 2012{{spnd}}present)<ref name=":1" /> * Generalissimo of the DPRK (posthumous) (January 2012{{spnd}}present)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/9083347/Kim-Jong-il-awarded-North-Koreas-highest-honour.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/9083347/Kim-Jong-il-awarded-North-Koreas-highest-honour.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Kim Jong-il awarded North Korea's highest honour|journal=Daily Telegraph|date=15 February 2012|access-date=6 January 2020|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref> * Eternal General Secretary, Workers' Party of Korea (posthumous) (11 April 2012{{spnd}}present)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/9197729/Kim-Jong-il-made-General-Secretary-for-Eternity-at-North-Korea-ceremony.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/9197729/Kim-Jong-il-made-General-Secretary-for-Eternity-at-North-Korea-ceremony.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Kim Jong-il made General Secretary for Eternity at North Korea ceremony|last=Gambino|first=Lauren|journal=Daily Telegraph|date=11 April 2012|access-date=6 January 2020|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref> * Eternal Chairman of the National Defence Commission (posthumous) (13 April 2012{{spnd}}present)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15258881|title=North Korea country profile|date=6 May 2016|access-date=6 January 2020|language=en-GB|archive-date=18 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518174559/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15258881|url-status=live}}</ref> * Eternal leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (posthumous) (7 May 2016{{spnd}}present)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncnk.org/sites/default/files/content/resources/publications/KJU_Speeches_7th_Congress.pdf|title=Documents from the 7th Workers' Party Congress|website=NCNK|access-date=6 January 2020|archive-date=11 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211132837/https://www.ncnk.org/sites/default/files/content/resources/publications/KJU_Speeches_7th_Congress.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> * Eternal leader of Juche Korea (posthumous) (29 June 2016{{spnd}}present)<ref>[[wikisophia:Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2012)|Constitution of North Korea (2012)]] Wikisource</ref> == Published works == {{main|Kim Jong Il bibliography}} [[File:Kim Jong Il Books (33012753981).jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Books written by Kim Jong Il]] According to North Korean sources, Kim published some 890 works during a period of his career from June 1964 to June 1994.<ref>{{Cite web | title = 1. A Great Thinker and Theoretician | work=[[Naenara]] | date = May 2008 | access-date = 11 December 2015 | url = http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/juche/great.php?great+1+1-01#contents | archive-date = 21 February 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160221043246/http://naenara.com.kp/en/juche/great.php?great+1+1-01#contents | url-status = dead }}</ref> According to KCNA, the number of works from 1964 to 2001 was 550.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Over 530 works of Kim Jong Il published |publisher=[[Korean Central News Agency]] |date=8 June 2001 |access-date=6 May 2016 |archive-date=12 October 2014 |url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2001/200106/news06/18.htm#9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012063225/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2001/200106/news06/18.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2000, it was reported that the [[Workers' Party of Korea Publishing House]] has published at least 120 works by Kim.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Over 120 works of Kim Jong Il brought out |publisher=[[Korean Central News Agency]] |date=26 December 2000 |access-date=29 February 2016 |url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2000/200012/news12/26.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012070821/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2000/200012/news12/26.htm |archive-date=12 October 2014 }}</ref> In 2009, KCNA put the numbers as follows: {{blockquote|text=At least 354,000 copies of [Kim Jong Il's works] were translated into nearly 70 languages and came off the press in about 80 countries in the new century. There were more than 500 activities for studying and distributing the works in at least 120 countries and regions in 2006. The following year witnessed a total of more than 600 events of diverse forms in at least 130 countries and regions. And 2008 saw at least 3,000 functions held in over 150 countries and regions for the same purpose.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Kim Jong Il Authors Lots of Works | publisher=[[Korean Central News Agency]] | date = 25 August 2009 | access-date = 6 May 2016 | archive-date=12 October 2014 | url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2009/200908/news25/20090825-03ee.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141012052403/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2009/200908/news25/20090825-03ee.html }}</ref>}} The ''Selected Works of Kim Jong Il (Enlarged Edition)'', whose publishing has continued posthumously, runs into volume 24 in Korean<ref>{{Cite web | title = 'Selected Works of Kim Jong Il' (Enlarged Edition) Vol. 24 Off Press | publisher=[[Korean Central News Agency]] | date = 22 November 2014 | access-date = 6 March 2016 | archive-date = 24 November 2019 | url = http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2014/201411/news22/20141122-14ee.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191124025732/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2014/201411/news22/20141122-14ee.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> and to volume 15 in English.<ref name="KPEA2011">{{cite book|title=Korea Publications Exchange Association catalogue|url=http://www.nordkorea-info.de/files/KPEA-Catalogue-2015-10-HP_7xtn9yg0.pdf#27|publisher=Korea Publications Exchange Association|page=[27]|year=2015|access-date=12 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402162111/http://www.nordkorea-info.de/files/KPEA-Catalogue-2015-10-HP_7xtn9yg0.pdf#27|archive-date=2 April 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Volumes three to eight were never published in English.<ref name="nort_Sele">{{Cite web|title=Selected Works |work=north-korea-books.com |access-date=6 May 2016 |url=http://www.north-korea-books.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=1_18_46 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430004204/http://www.north-korea-books.com/index.php?route=product%2Fcategory&path=1_18_46 |archive-date=30 April 2016}}</ref> The ''Complete Collection of Kim Jong Il's Works'' is currently in volume 13.<ref>{{Cite web|work=[[Rodong Sinmun]] |title='Complete Collection of Kim Jong Il's Works' Vol. 13 Published |date=6 May 2016 |access-date=6 May 2016 |url=http://www.rodong.rep.kp/en/index.php?strPageID=SF01_02_01&newsID=2016-05-05-0014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513233841/http://www.rodong.rep.kp/en/index.php?strPageID=SF01_02_01&newsID=2016-05-05-0014 |archive-date=13 May 2016}}</ref> There is a "Kim Jong Il's Works Exhibition House" dedicated to his works in North Korea, holding 1,100 of his works and manuscripts.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Service Personnel, People Visit Kim Jong Il's Works Exhibition House | publisher=[[Korean Central News Agency]] | date = 18 February 2015 | access-date = 6 March 2016 | url = http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2015/201502/news18/20150218-14ee.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191124075509/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2015/201502/news18/20150218-14ee.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = 24 November 2019 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> In his teens and university years, Kim had written poems.<ref>{{Cite web | title = 23. Leader Kim Jong Il, genius of literature and art | work=[[Naenara]] | date = March 2010 | access-date = 11 December 2015 | url = http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/juche/great.php?great+1+1-23#contents | archive-date = 21 February 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160221043338/http://naenara.com.kp/en/juche/great.php?great+1+1-23#contents | url-status = dead }}</ref> He also wrote song lyrics.<ref name="lyr">{{Cite web | title = Song lyrics by Kim Jong Il | work=[[Naenara]] | access-date = 11 February 2016 | url = http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/society/hymn_music.php?c | archive-date = 21 February 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160221125937/http://naenara.com.kp/en/society/hymn_music.php?c | url-status = dead }}</ref> His first major literary work was ''[[On the Art of the Cinema]]'' in 1973.{{sfn|Lim|2015|p=28}} == See also == {{Portal|North Korea|Politics}} * [[Awards and decorations received by Kim Jong Il]] * [[Politics of North Korea]] * [[Residences of North Korean leaders]] == Notes == {{notelist|group=efn}} == References == === Citations === {{Reflist}} === Sources === {{refbegin}} *{{cite book|last=Becker|first=Jasper|title=Rogue Regime: Kim Jong Il and the Looming Threat of North Korea|year=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=US|isbn=978-0-19-530891-4}} *{{cite book|title=Kim Jong-il: North Korea's Dear Leader: Who He Is What He Wants and What To Do About Him|first=Michael|last=Breen|publisher=John Wiley & Sons Singapore|year=2012|location=Singapore|isbn=978-1-118-15377-2|edition=Revised and Updated}} *{{cite book|title=The Making of Modern Korea|last=Buzo|first=Adrian|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0-415-23749-9}} *{{Cite journal|url=http://www.uccs.edu/~faculty/fcoolidg/pdfs/Kim%20Jong-il%202009%20Behavioral%20Sciences%20of%20Terrorism.pdf|title=Is Kim Jong-il like Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler? A personality disorder evaluation|first1=Frederick L.|last1=Coolidge|first2=Daniel L.|last2=Segal|date=2009|journal=Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression|volume=1|number=3|pages=195–202|doi=10.1080/19434470903017664|s2cid=20256106|access-date=8 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009105223/http://www.uccs.edu/~faculty/fcoolidg/pdfs/Kim%20Jong-il%202009%20Behavioral%20Sciences%20of%20Terrorism.pdf|archive-date=9 October 2016|url-status=dead}} *{{cite book|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4002#.pdf|title=Kim Jong Il: Brief History |publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]]|location=Pyongyang|year=1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111219140000/http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4002 |archive-date=19 December 2011|oclc=272459470|ref={{harvid|Kim Jong Il: Brief History|1998}}}} *{{cite book|last=Kleiner|first=Jürgen|title=Korea, a Century of Change|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nTCC2ZheFu0C&pg=PA291|year=2001|publisher=World Scientific|location=River Edge|isbn=978-981-279-995-1}} *{{cite book|last=Lankov|first=Andrei|author-link=Andrei Lankov|title=[[The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia]]|year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-939003-8}} *{{cite book|last=Lim|first=Jae-Cheon|title=Leader Symbols and Personality Cult in North Korea: The Leader State |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yswqBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|date=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-56741-7 |access-date=12 April 2017|archive-date=4 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804104807/https://books.google.com/books?id=yswqBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|url-status=live}} *{{cite journal|last=Noland|first=Marcus|title=Famine and Reform in North Korea|journal=Asian Economic Papers|year=2004|volume=3|issue=2|pages=1–40|doi=10.1162/1535351044193411|citeseerx=10.1.1.6.8390|s2cid=57565869|url=https://www.piie.com/sites/default/files/publications/wp/03-5.pdf}} {{refend}} == Further reading == {{refbegin}} *{{cite book|title=History of Revolutionary Activities of Chairman Kim Jong Il |url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4058#.pdf|year=2015|publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]]|location=Pyongyang|isbn=978-9946-0-1309-1|access-date=15 October 2015|archive-date=16 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016211015/http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4058#.pdf|url-status=live}} *{{cite book|author=Jo Song-baek|title=The Leadership Philosophy of Kim Jong Il |url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4010#.pdf|year=1999|publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]]|location=Pyongyang|oclc=68890556|ref=none|access-date=15 October 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191914/http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4010#.pdf|url-status=live}} *{{cite book|author=Kim Chol-u|title=Songun Politics of Kim Jong Il |url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4009#.pdf|year=2002|publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]]|location=Pyongyang|ref=none|access-date=15 October 2015|archive-date=16 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016211015/http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4009#.pdf|url-status=live}} *{{cite book|title=Kim Jong Il : Biography|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4013#.pdf |volume=1|year=2005|publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]]|location=Pyongyang|access-date=15 October 2015 |archive-date=8 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008063733/http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4013#.pdf|url-status=dead}} *{{cite book|title=Kim Jong Il : Biography|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4023#.pdf |volume=2|year=2006|publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]]|location=Pyongyang|access-date=15 October 2015 |archive-date=16 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016211014/http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4023#.pdf|url-status=live}} *{{cite book|title=Kim Jong Il : Biography|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4034#.pdf |volume=3|year=2008|publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]]|location=Pyongyang|access-date=15 October 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304201825/http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4034#.pdf|url-status=live}} *{{cite book|title=Kim Jong Il : Short Biography|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4037#.pdf |publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]]|location=Pyongyang|oclc=79301411|access-date=15 October 2015 |archive-date=8 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008063724/http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4037#.pdf|url-status=dead}} *{{cite book|author=Kim Nam-jin|title=Guiding Light General Kim Jong Il|year=1997|publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]] |ref=none|location=Pyongyang}} *{{cite book|author1=Ri Il-bok|author2=Yun Sang-hyon|title=The Great Man Kim Jong Il : Anecdotage|volume=1 |year=1989 |ref=none |publisher=Foreign Language Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|oclc=223172604}} *{{cite book|author=Ri Il-bok|title=The Great Man Kim Jong Il : Anecdotage |url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4008#.pdf |volume=2|year=1995|publisher=Foreign Language Publishing House|location=Pyongyang |oclc=37141068|ref=none|access-date=15 October 2015|archive-date=4 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604075555/http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4008#.pdf|url-status=live}} *{{cite book|author=Pae Kyong-su|title=Kim Jong Il: The Individual, Thoughts and Leadership |volume=1|year=1993 |publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]]|location=Pyongyang |oclc=51345314|ref=none}} *{{cite book|author=Pae Kyong-su|title=Kim Jong Il: The Individual, Thoughts and Leadership |volume=2|year=1995 |publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]]|location=Pyongyang |oclc=867581955|ref=none}} *{{cite book|author=Takashi Nada|title=Korea in Kim Jong Il's Era|year=2000|publisher=[[Foreign Languages Publishing House (North Korea)|Foreign Languages Publishing House]] |ref=none |location=Pyongyang|oclc=272459531}} {{refend}} == External links == {{Sister project links|Kim Jong-il}} * {{NYTtopic|people/k/_kim_jong_il}} *{{cite web|url=http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200406/kt2004060817432954140.htm |title=Born in the USSR |access-date=13 September 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061102085028/http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200406/kt2004060817432954140.htm |archive-date=2 November 2006 }} – Kim Jong Il's childhood. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050213081159/http://www.east-asia-intel.com/eai/Sample/2.html The many family secrets of Kim Jong Il] * [http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=1643 "Hidden Daughter" Visits Kim Jong-il Every Year] (also includes photos of Kim during his youth) * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3203523.stm BBC, North Korea's secretive 'first family'] * [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10745725 Obituary: Kim Jong-il], BBC News, 19 December 2011. * {{Curlie|Regional/Asia/North_Korea/Society_and_Culture/History/Kim_Jong_Il}} {{s-start}} Yun Sung-gwan {{s-ppo}} {{s-bef|before=[[Kim Yong-ju]]}} {{s-ttl|title=Head of the [[Organization and Guidance Department]]|years=1974–1992}} {{s-aft|after=Yun Sung-gwan}} |- {{s-bef|before=Yun Sung-gwan}} {{s-ttl|title=Director of the [[Organization and Guidance Department]]|years=1994–2011}} {{s-aft|after=Eventually [[Choe Ryong-hae]]}} |- {{s-vac|last=[[Kim Il Sung]]|rows=2}} {{s-ttl|title=[[General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea]]<br /><small>(Eternal General Secretary 2012–2021)</small>|years=1997–2011}} {{s-aft|after=[[Kim Jong Un]]|as=First Secretary}} |- {{s-ttl|title=Chairman of the [[Central Military Commission (DPRK)|WPK Central Military Commission]]|years=1997–2011}} {{s-aft|after=[[Kim Jong Un]]}} |- {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=}} {{s-ttl|title=First Vice Chairman of the [[National Defence Commission of North Korea|National Defence Commission]]|years=1990–1993}} {{s-aft|after=[[O Chin-u]]}} |- {{s-bef|before=[[Kim Il Sung]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea|Chairman of the National Defence Commission]]<br /><small>(Eternal Chairman 2012–2016)</small>|years=1993–2011}} {{s-aft|after=[[Kim Jong Un]]|as=First Chairman}} |- {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=[[Kim Il Sung]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army]]|years=1991–2011}} {{s-aft|after=[[Kim Jong Un]]}} |- {{s-hon}} {{s-new}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Eternal leaders of North Korea|Eternal Leader of North Korea]]|alongside=[[Kim Il Sung]]|years=Anointed: 2016}} {{s-non|reason=Eternal}} {{s-end}} {{Kim Jong-il}} {{Navboxes |titlestyle = background: #BAE675; |list1 = {{Workers' Party of Korea}} {{NKSupremeLeaders}} {{WPKHeads}} {{Kim family (North Korea)}} {{Commanders of the Korean People's Army}} {{North Korean marshals}} }} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Jong Il}} [[Category:Kim Jong Il| ]] [[Category:1940s births]] [[Category:2011 deaths]] [[Category:People from Khabarovsky District]] [[Category:Children of heads of state]] [[Category:Heads of state of North Korea]] [[Category:North Korean communists]] [[Category:Korean nationalists]] [[Category:Korean expatriates in the Soviet Union]] [[Category:Korean film producers]] [[Category:Leaders of political parties in North Korea]] [[Category:Members of the Supreme People's Assembly]] [[Category:Leaders of the Workers' Party of Korea and its predecessors]] [[Category:Members of the 5th Political Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea]] [[Category:Members of the 6th Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea]] [[Category:Members of the 6th Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea]] [[Category:Generalissimos]] [[Category:National Heroes of North Korea]] [[Category:20th-century North Korean writers]] [[Category:20th-century North Korean male actors]] [[Category:21st-century North Korean people]] [[Category:North Korean atheists]] [[Category:Politicide 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