Kim ruled North Korea as arepressive andtotalitarian dictatorship.[d] Kim assumed leadership during a period of catastrophic economic crisis amidst thedissolution of the Soviet Union, on which it was heavily dependent for trade in food and other supplies, which broughta 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 themilitary by hisSongun ("military-first") policies, making the army the central organizer of civil society. Kim's rule also saw tentative economic reforms, including the opening of theKaesong 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 DPRK".
The most common colloquialtitle 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 defunctNational Defence Commission, in keeping withthe tradition of establishing eternal posts for the dead members of theKim dynasty. North Korean media also began referring to Kim as "the General" (장군Changgun), similar to his father's posthumous designation as "the [eternal] President".[7]
Soviet records show that Kim Jong Il was born Yuri Kim.[8][9][10] In literature, it is assumed that he was born in 1941 in either the camp ofVyatskoye, nearKhabarovsk,[11][failed verification] or camp Voroshilov nearNikolsk.[12] 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.[13] Kim's mother,Kim Jong Suk, was Kim Il Sung's first wife. Inside his family, he was nicknamed "Yura",[14] while his younger brotherKim Man Il (born Aleksandr Kim) was nicknamed "Shura".[15]
Kim's official biography states he was born in asecret military camp onPaektu Mountain (Korean: 백두산밀영고향집;Paektusan Miryeong Gohyang jip) inKorea under Japanese rule on 16 February 1942.[16] 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.[17][18] Kim Jong Suk died in 1949 from an ectopic pregnancy.[19]
In 1945, Kim was four years old when World War II ended and Korea regained independence from Japan. His father returned toPyongyang that September, and in late November Jong-Il returned to Korea via a Soviet ship, landing atSonbong. The family moved into a former Japanese officer's mansion in Pyongyang, with a garden and pool. Kim's brother drowned there in 1948 under mysterious circumstances.[20]
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 Higher Middle School) in Pyongyang.[21][22] 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 theKorean War.[23][page needed]
Throughout his schooling, Kim was involved in politics. He was active in theKorean Children's Union and theDemocratic 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.[24]
Kim is also said to have received English language education inMalta in the early 1970s[25][26] on his infrequent holidays there as a guest of Prime MinisterDom Mintoff.[27]
The elder Kim had meanwhile remarried and had another son,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 toPoland. 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.[28]
Kim Jong Il officially joined the Workers' Party of Korea in July 1961.[29] He rose up the ranks during the 1960s,[30] and benefited greatly from theKapsan faction incident around 1967, which was the last credible challenge to Kim Il Sung's sole rule.[31] This incident marked the first time Kim Jong Il was – at age 26 – given official duties by his father, when Jong Il took part in the investigation and purges that followed the incident.[32]
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.[33][34]
Only six months later, in an unscheduled meeting of the party, Kim Il Sung called for loyalty in the film industry that had betrayed him withAn Act of Sincerity.[e] Kim Jong Il himself announced that he was up to the task and thus begun his influential career in North Korean filmmaking,[34] during which he made significant efforts to further intensify the personality cult of his father and attach himself to it.[36] In 1969, he produced a film adaptation of the North Korean operaSea of Blood.[37]
Kim Jong Il's years in the PAD were marked by his effort to become an expert in the field ofpropaganda. Kim Jong Il's main contribution in the department was to devise the "monolithic ideological system", later codified as theTen Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System. Kim's various efforts greatly benefited theNorth Korean cult of personality. During this time, the film directorChoe Ik-gyu, a close confidant of his, also rose in the ranks of the PAD, becoming its vice director in 1972. Choe developedmass games, which would evolve into theArirang Festival,[39] The department was important because of its role in mass mobilization of the populace. Kim Jong Il was known as a great fan of music, film, and theater since young age and his position within the department was natural fit.
Kim Jong Il was elected to theCentral Committee in 1972 and became its secretary the following year.[29]
However, when Kim Il Sung began to contemplate the succession question in the early 1970s,[40] it didn't seem certain that Kim Jong Il would be his successor.[35] There was Kim's uncle,Kim Yong-ju, who was once believed to be Kim Il Sung's eventual successor[41] but who had made several mistakes in the struggle for power, had serious flaws,[35] and was becoming increasingly marginalized.[42] Then there was the threat posed by his paternal half-brother,Kim Pyong Il, whose mother,Kim Song-ae, wished to place her son in line for succession instead of Jong Il.[35]
[By early 1973] the power of the Central Committee of the Party was slowly being handed over to Kim Jong Il. Many people were becoming aware that Kim Jong Il was the successor. In North Korea, where pre-modern ideas of ancestry were overwhelming, many people had figured out that Kim Jong Il would be the successor. ... Some people were under the impression that first generation revolutionaries who had pursued the anti-Japan guerilla struggle alongside Kim Il Sung had picked Kim Jong Il as the successor, but that was not true. There was no-one among them who could suggest a successor. Even if there were someone, it would have been impossible had Kim Il Sung showed even a small sign of objection. ... [T]he succession became possible because the totalitarian dictatorship had become firm and prolonged. In other words, since Kim Il Sung lacked a modern sense of politics and was steeped in pre-modern thinking, he came up with the absurd idea of handing the country over to his son. In addition, Kim Jong Il himself was ambitious to succeed his father and made every effort to do so.
In February 1974, Kim Yong-ju was criticized by Kim Il Sung at a party conference and demoted to vice-premier. Kim Yong-ju's allies were removed and eventually he was placed under house arrest, where he remained until 1993.[43] In 1976, Kim Song-ae lost her position aschair of the KDWL, which was her vital power base.[44] And in 1979, Kim Pyong Il began a series of diplomatic postings inEurope, arranged so as then he couldn't influence politics in North Korea.[45] Kim Pyong Il only returned to North Korea in 2019.[46]
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.[40]
By the time of theSixth Party Congress in October 1980, Kim's control of the Party operation was complete. He was given senior posts in thePresidium, theMilitary Commission and the partySecretariat. When he was made a member of theSeventh Supreme People's Assembly in February 1982, international observers deemed him theheir apparent of North Korea. Prior to 1980, he had no public profile and was referred to only as the "Party Centre".[47] At this time Kim assumed the title "Dear Leader" (Korean: 친애하는 지도자;MR: ch'inaehanŭn jidoja),[48] and the government began building apersonality 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 ofJuche (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 the1983 bombing in Rangoon, Burma which killed 17 visiting South Korean officials, including four cabinet members, and another in 1987 which killed all 115 onboardKorean Air Flight 858.[49] A North Korean agent,Kim Hyon Hui, confessed to planting a bomb in the case of the second, saying the operation was ordered by Kim personally.[50]
On 24 December 1991, Kim was also namedSupreme Commander of the Korean People's Army.[51] Defence MinisterOh 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 51st birthday in February was the occasion for massive celebrations, exceeded only by those for the 80thbirthday of Kim Il Sung himself on 15 April that same year.
In 1992, Kim made his first and only public speech during a military parade for the KPA's 60th anniversary and said:[52] "Glory to the officers and soldiers of the heroic Korean People's Army!".[53] These words were followed by a loud applause and cheers by the crowd at Pyongyang'sKim Il Sung Square where the parade was held.
According to defectorHwang Jang Yop, the North Korean government system became even more centralized andautocratic 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.[55]
North Koreans bowing to the statues of Kim Jong Il and his father, Kim Il Sung, at theMansu Hill Grand Monument
On 8 July 1994,Kim Il Sung died at the age of 82 from a heart attack.[56] Kim Jong Il had been his father's designated successor as early as 1974,[57] named commander-in-chief in 1991,[58] and became Supreme Leader upon his father's death.[59]
He officially took over his father's old post asGeneral Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea on 8 October 1997.[60] 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".[61] Also in 1998, theSupreme People's Assembly wrote the president's post out of the constitution and designated Kim Il Sung as the country's "Eternal President" in order to honor his memory forever.[62]
Officially, Kim was part of atriumvirate heading the executive branch of the North Korean government along with PremierChoe Yong Rim and parliament chairmanKim 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.[63]
Kim had a "reputation for being almost comically incompetent in matters of economic management".[64] Theeconomy of North Korea struggled throughout the 1990s, primarily due to mismanagement. In addition, North Korea experienced severefloods in the mid-1990s, exacerbated by poor land management.[65][66][67] This, compounded with the fact that only 18% of North Korea is arable land[68] and the country's inability to import the goods necessary to sustain industry,[69] led to asevere famine and left North Korea economically devastated. Faced with a country in decay, Kim adopted a"Military-First" policy to strengthen the country and reinforce the regime.[70] On the national scale, theJapanese 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.[71]
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 UniversityAsia–Pacific Research Center, this flirtation with capitalism was "fairly limited, but – especially compared to the past – there are now remarkable markets that create the semblance of afree market system".[72]
In 2002, Kim declared that "money should be capable of measuring the worth of all commodities."[73] These gestures toward economic reform mirror similar actions taken by China'sDeng Xiaoping in the late 1980s and early 90s. During a rare visit in 2006, Kim expressed admiration for China's rapid economic progress.[74]
An unsuccessful devaluation of theNorth Korean won in 2009, initiated or approved by Kim personally,[64] caused brief economic chaos and protests and uncovered the vulnerability of the country's societal fabric in the face of crisis.[75]
Kim talking with Russian PresidentVladimir Putin during their 2001 meeting in Moscow
Kim was known as a skilled and manipulative diplomat.[64] In 1998, South Korean PresidentKim 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, theKaesong Industrial Park was constructed in 2003 just north of thedemilitarized zone.[76]
In a meeting with Japanese Prime MinisterJunichiro Koizumi in September 2002, Kim publicly admitted to thekidnapping of at least 13 Japanese citizens by North Korea since the 1970s. According to Russian scholarAndrei Lankov, the North Korean disclosure was met with outrage within both the Japanese government and the general public, as the allegations that were previously thought of as conspiracy theories had proved to be true.[77]
Kim Ok, Kim's personal secretary, with U.S. Secretary of DefenseWilliam Cohen, 2000
In 1994, North Korea and the United States signed anAgreed Framework which was designed to freeze and eventually dismantle the North'snuclear weapons program in exchange for aid in producing two power-generatingnuclear reactors and the assurance that it would not be invaded again. In 2000, after a meeting withMadeleine Albright, he agreed to a moratorium on missile construction.[78][79]
In 2002, Kim's government admitted to having produced nuclear weapons in violation of the 1994 agreement. Kim's regime argued the secret production was necessary for security purposes – citing the presence of United States-owned nuclear weapons in South Korea and the new tensions with the United States under PresidentGeorge W. Bush after theaxis of evil speech.[80] On 9 October 2006, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency announced that it had successfully conductedan underground nuclear test. In 2009, asecond nuclear test was conducted.[81]
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 anelaborate 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 hisHwangap.[82] In 2010, the North Korean media reported that Kim's distinctive clothing had set worldwide fashion trends.[83]
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.[84] Media and government sources from outside North Korea generally support this view,[85][86][87][88][89] while North Korean government sources aver that it was genuine hero worship.[90] The song "No Motherland Without You", sung by theKPA 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.[91]
According to a 2004Human 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."[92]
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'.[95]
In an August 2008 issue of the Japanese newsweeklyShūkan Gendai,Waseda University professor Toshimitsu Shigemura, an authority on theKorean Peninsula,[96] claimed that Kim died ofdiabetes in late 2003 and had been replaced in public appearances by one or more stand-ins previously employed to protect him from assassination attempts.[97] 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 theOlympic torch relay in Pyongyang on 28 April 2008. The question had reportedly "baffled foreignintelligence agencies for years".[96]
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.[98]
A formerCIA official said earlier reports of a health crisis were likely accurate. North Korean media remained silent on the issue. AnAssociated 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 inNyongbyon 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'sChosun Ilbo newspaper reported that "the South Korean embassy in Beijing had received an intelligence report that Kim collapsed on 22 August".[99]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".[100] TheBBC noted that the North Korean government denied these reports, stating that Kim's health problems were "not serious enough to threaten his life",[101][102] although they did confirm that he had suffered a stroke on 15 August.[103]
Kim at a meeting during his visit withDmitry Medvedev in August 2011
Japan'sKyodo News agency reported on 14 September, that "Kim collapsed on 14 August due to stroke or acerebral 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'sMainichi Shimbun claimed Kim had occasionally lost consciousness since April.[104] Japan'sTokyo 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.[105]
On 19 October, North Korea reportedly ordered its diplomats to stay near their embassies to await "an important message", according to Japan'sYomiuri Shimbun, setting off renewed speculation about the health of the ailing leader.[106]
By 29 October 2008, reports stated Kim suffered a serious setback and had been taken back to the hospital.[107]The New York Times reported that Japanese Prime MinisterTaro Aso, on 28 October 2008, stated in aparliamentary 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 Frenchneurosurgeon 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 inSeoul that "Kim appeared to be recovering quickly enough to start performing his daily duties".[108]
The Dong-A Ilbo newspaper reported "a serious problem" with Kim's health. Japan'sFuji Television network reported that Kim's eldest son,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 weeklyLe 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.[109] 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.[110]
On 5 November 2008, the North's Korean Central News Agency published 2 photos showing Kim posing with dozens ofKorean People's Army (KPA) soldiers on a visit to military Unit 2200 and sub-unit of Unit 534. Shown with his usualbouffant 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.[111][112][113][114]The Times questioned the authenticity of at least one of these photos.[115]
In November 2008, Japan'sTBS 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".[116] However, South Korea's intelligence agency rejected this report.[116]
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.[117] In 2010,leaked diplomatic cables purportedly attested that Kim suffered fromepilepsy.[118]
Kim's three sons and his brother-in-law, along withO 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.[120]
Kim Yong Hyun, a political expert at the Institute for North Korean Studies at Seoul'sDongguk University, said in 2007: "Even the North Korean establishment would not advocate a continuation of the familydynasty at this point".[121] Kim's eldest son Kim Jong-nam was earlier believed to be the designated heir but he appeared to have fallen out of favor after being arrested atNarita International Airport near Tokyo in 2001 where he was caught attempting to enter Japan on afake passport to visitTokyo Disneyland.[122]
On 2 June 2009, it was reported that Kim's youngest son, Kim Jong Un, was to be North Korea's next leader.[123] Like his father and grandfather, he has also been given an officialsobriquet, The Brilliant Comrade.[124] Prior to his death, it had been reported that Kim was expected to officially designate the son as his successor in 2012.[125]
On 9 April 2009, Kim was re-elected as chairman of the National Defence Commission[126] 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.[127]
On 28 September 2010, Kim was re-elected as General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.[128]
Kim reportedly visited the People's Republic of China in May 2010. He entered the country via hispersonal train on 3 May and stayed in a hotel inDalian.[129] In May 2010, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific AffairsKurt Campbell told South Korean officials that Kim had only three years to live, according to medical information that had been compiled.[130] 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.[131]
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.[132] In late August 2011, he traveled by train to the Russian Far East to meet with President Dmitry Medvedev for unspecified talks.[133]
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.[134]
An official portrait of Kim, issued after his death
It was reported that Kim had died of a suspectedheart attack on 17 December 2011 at 8:30am whiletravelling by train to an area outside Pyongyang.[135][136] He was succeeded by his youngest son Kim Jong Un, who was hailed by the Korean Central News Agency as the "Great Successor".[137][138][139] According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), during his death a fierce snowstorm "paused" and "the sky glowed red above the sacredMount Paektu" and the ice on a famous lake also cracked so loud that it seemed to "shake the Heavens and the Earth".[140]
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.[135]
On 12 January 2012, North Korea called Kim the "eternal leader" and announced that his body would be preserved and displayed at Pyongyang'sKumsusan Memorial Palace. Officials also announced plans to install statues, portraits, andimmortality towers across the country.[141][142] His birthday of 16 February was declared "the greatest auspicious holiday of the nation" and was named theDay of the Shining Star.[143]
In February 2012, on what would have been his 71st birthday, Kim was posthumously madeDae Wonsu (usually translated asGeneralissimo, literallyGrand Marshal), the nation's top military rank. He had been namedWonsu (Marshal) in 1992 when North Korean founder Kim Il Sung was promoted to Dae Wonsu.[144] Also in February 2012, the North Korean government created theOrder 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.[145]
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 threemistresses.[146] He had three known sons:Kim Jong-nam,Kim Jong Chul and Kim Jong Un. His two known daughters areKim Sol Song andKim Yo Jong.[1][147]
Kim's first wife,Hong Il Chon, was the daughter of amartyr 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,[148] who was born in 1968. Soon afterwards, they divorced in 1969.
Kim's first mistress,Song Hye Rim, was a star of North Korean films. She was already married to another man and with a child when they met.[149] 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.[149][150] However, after years of estrangement, Song is believed to have died in Moscow in theCentral Clinical Hospital in 2002.[151]
Kim's official wife,Kim Young Sook, was the daughter of a high-ranking military official. His father Kim Il Sung handpicked her to marry his son.[146] The two were estranged for some years before his death. Kim had a daughter from this marriage, Kim Sol Song (born 1974).[147]
His second mistress,Ko Yong Hui, was a Japanese-born ethnic Korean and a dancer. She had taken over the role ofFirst Lady until her death – reportedly of cancer – in 2004. They had two sons, Kim Jong Chul (in 1981) and Kim Jong Un, also "Jong Woon" or "Jong Woong" (in 1983).[150][152] They also had a daughter, Kim Yo Jong, who was about 23 years old in 2012.[1][153]
After Ko's death, Kim lived withKim 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.[154]
According to Michael Breen, author of the bookKim 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.[155]
He had a younger sister,Kim Kyong Hui. She was married toJang Sung Taek, who was executed in December 2013 inPyongyang, after being charged with treason and corruption.[156]
Like his father, Kim had afear of flying[157] and always travelled byprivate armored train for state visits to Russia and China.[158] TheBBC reported thatKonstantin Pulikovsky, a Russian emissary who travelled with Kim across Russia by train, told reporters that Kim had livelobsters air-lifted to the train every day and ate them with silver chopsticks.[159]
Although Kim enjoyed many foreign forms of entertainment, according to formerbodyguardLee Young Kuk, he refused to consume any food or drink not produced in North Korea, with the exception of wine from France.[170] His former chefKenji Fujimoto, however, has stated that Kim sometimes sent him around the world to purchase a variety of foreigndelicacies.[171]
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.[174] However, psychological evaluations conclude that Kim'santisocial features, such as his fearlessness in the face of sanctions and punishment, served to make negotiations extraordinarily difficult.[175]
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 dictatorsAdolf Hitler,Joseph Stalin andSaddam Hussein (sadistic,paranoid,antisocial,narcissistic,schizoid andschizotypal) were also shared by Kim – coinciding primarily with the profile of Saddam Hussein.[176]
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 – an attribute appearing to emanate from his antisocial personality pattern.[175]
Defectors claimed that Kim had 17 different palaces and residences all over North Korea, including a private resort nearBaekdu Mountain, a seaside lodge in the city ofWonsan, andRyongsong Residence, a palace complex northeast of Pyongyang surrounded with multiple fence lines,bunkers and anti-aircraft batteries.[177]
According to a 2010 report in theSunday Telegraph, Kim had 4billionUSD on deposit in European banks in case he ever needed to flee North Korea. TheSunday Telegraph reported that most of the money was in banks inLuxembourg.[178]
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".[179]
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)[180]
According to North Korean sources, Kim published some 890 works during a period of his career from June 1964 to June 1994.[187] According to KCNA, the number of works from 1964 to 2001 was 550.[188] In 2000, it was reported that theWorkers' Party of Korea Publishing House has published at least 120 works by Kim.[189] In 2009, KCNA put the numbers as follows:
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.[190]
TheSelected Works of Kim Jong Il (Enlarged Edition), whose publishing has continued posthumously, runs into volume 24 in Korean[191] and to volume 15 in English.[192] Volumes three to eight were never published in English.[193]
TheComplete Collection of Kim Jong Il's Works is currently in volume 13.[194] 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.[195]
In his teens and university years, Kim had written poems.[196] He also wrote song lyrics.[197] His first major literary work wasOn the Art of the Cinema in 1973.[198]
^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 leaderPak 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.[35]
^Christopher Richardson (2017), "Hagiography of the Kims and the childhood of saints", in Adam Cathcart; Robert Winstanley-Chesters; Christopher K. Green (eds.),Change and Continuity in North Korean Politics, London / New York: Routledge, p. 121,ISBN978-1134811045
^Lim Jae-cheon (2009),Kim Jong Il's Leadership of North Korea (1 ed.), London: Routledge, pp. 9–10,ISBN978-0203884720
^Korea & World Affairs, Volume 27. Research Center for Peace and Unification. 2003. p. 246.Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved25 November 2021.
^Fischer, Paul (2016).A Kim Jong-Il Production: Kidnap, Torture, Murder... Making Movies North Korean-Style. London: Penguin Books.ISBN978-0-241-97000-3.
^abHaggard; Nolan; Sen (2009).Famine in North Korea: Markets, Aid, and Reform. Columbia University Press. p. 209.ISBN978-0231140010.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
^Fife-Yeomans, Janet (20 December 2011)."Kim Jong-il – the high life of an evil dictator".The Daily Telegraph.Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved20 December 2011.When North Korea's Dear Leader, the chain-smoking Kim Jong-il, 69, died on Saturday
^Martin, Bradley K. (2004).Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty. New York: Thomas Dunne Books. pp. 693–694.ISBN978-0312323226.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.
Becker, Jasper (2006).Rogue Regime: Kim Jong Il and the Looming Threat of North Korea. US: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-530891-4.
Breen, Michael (2012).Kim Jong-il: North Korea's Dear Leader: Who He Is What He Wants and What To Do About Him (Revised and Updated ed.). Singapore: John Wiley & Sons Singapore.ISBN978-1-118-15377-2.
Buzo, Adrian (2002).The Making of Modern Korea. London: Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-23749-9.
^To keep the tree of manageable size, it omits five out of the seven known legitimate children of Kim Il Sung. Other children not shown in the tree are:Kim Man-il (1944-1947; child ofKim Jong Suk), Kim Kyong-jin (1952-; child ofKim Song-ae), Kim Yong-il (1955-2000; child of Kim Song-ae), and Kim Kyong Suk (1951-; child of Kim Song-ae). A stillborn daughter is also omitted. Kim Il Sung was reported to have had other children with women who he was not married to; they included Kim Hyŏn-nam (born 1972). Also, only some of the descendants of Kim Jong Il and Kim Jung Un (Kim Il Sung's successors) are included.
^Korean names often have a variety of transliterations into English, which can be confusing. For example, "Kim Jong-chul" may also be written "Gim Jeong-cheol" or "Kim Jŏng-ch'ŏl" among many other variations. SeeKorean romanization for more information.
^Official North Korean biographies of Kim Jong Il list his birth year as 1942. TheKorean calendar is based upon theChinese zodiac which is believed to characterize one's personality. The year 1942 (Year of the Horse), in addition to being 30 years since Kim Il Sung's birth may be viewed as a better year than others, thus creating a motive to lie about a birth year.
^Official North Korean biographies of Kim Jong Un list his birth year as 1982. TheKorean calendar is based upon theChinese zodiac which is believed to characterize one's personality. The year 1982 (Year of the Dog), in addition to being 70 years since Kim Il Sung's birth, may be viewed as a better year than others, thus creating a motive to lie about a birth year.
^Birth year for Kim Ju Ae is not publicly known. She may have been born in either late 2012 or early 2013.
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