Kim Jong Il
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Template:Contains Korean text Template:Korean name
Kim Jong Il | |
Chosŏn'gŭl | 김정일 |
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Hancha | |
Revised Romanization | Gim Jeong(-)il |
McCune–Reischauer | Kim Chŏngil |
Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim (According to Soviet records)[1][2][3][4] (16 February 1941 (Soviet records) or 16 February 1942 (North Korean records) – 17 December 2011[5]), was the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). He was the Chairman of the National Defence Commission, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, the ruling party since 1948, and the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, the fourth largest standing army in the world. In April 2009, North Korea's constitution was amended and now implicitly refers to him as the "Supreme Leader".[6] He was also referred to as the "Dear Leader", "our Father", "the General" and "Generalissimo".[7] His son Kim Jong-un was promoted to a senior position in the ruling Workers' Party and is heir apparent.[8] In 2010 he was ranked 31st in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's Most Powerful People.[9] The North Korean government announced his death on 18 December 2011.[5]
Childhood
Birth
Soviet records show that Kim Jong-il was born in the village of Vyatskoye, near Khabarovsk, in 1941,[10] where his father, Kim Il-sung, commanded the 1st Battalion of the Soviet 88th Brigade, made up of Chinese and Korean exiles. Kim Jong-il's mother, Kim Jong-suk, was Kim Il-sung's first wife.
Kim Jong-il's official biography[11] states that he was born in a secret military camp on Baekdu Mountain in Japanese Korea on 16 February 1942.[12] Official biographers claim that his birth at Baekdu Mountain was foretold by a swallow, and heralded by the appearance of a double rainbow over the mountain and a new star in the heavens.[13]
In 1945, Kim was three or four years old (depending on his birth year) when World War II ended and Korea regained 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 (선봉군, also Unggi). The family moved into a former Japanese officer's mansion in Pyongyang, with a garden and pool. Kim Jong-il's brother, "Shura" Kim (the first Kim Jong-il, but known by his Russian nickname), drowned there in 1948. Unconfirmed reports suggest that five-year-old Kim Jong-il might have caused the accident.[14] In 1949, his mother died in childbirth.[15] Unconfirmed reports suggest that his mother might have been shot and left to bleed to death.[14]
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 Higher Middle School) in Pyongyang[citation needed] 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.[16]
Throughout his schooling, Kim was involved in politics. He was active in the Children's Union[17] and the Democratic Youth League (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. He pursued a programme of anti-factionalism and attempted to encourage greater ideological education among his classmates.
Kim is also said to have received English language education at the University of Malta in the early 1970s,[18] on his infrequent holidays in Malta as guest of Prime Minister Dom Mintoff.[19]
The elder Kim had meanwhile remarried and had another son, Kim Pyong-il (named after Kim Jong-il's drowned brother). Since 1988, Kim Pyong-il has served in a series of North Korean embassies in Europe and is currently 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.[20]
Presidium member and party secretary (1980–1994)
By the time of the Sixth Party Congress in October 1980, Kim Jong-il's control of the Party operation was complete. He was given senior posts in the Politburo, the Military Commission and the party Secretariat. When he was made a member of the Seventh Supreme People's Assembly in February 1982, international observers deemed him the heir apparent of North Korea.
At this time Kim assumed the title "Dear Leader" (친애하는 지도자, chinaehaneun jidoja)[21] the government began building a personality cult around him patterned after that of his father, the "Great Leader". Kim Jong-il 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.
On 24 December 1991, Kim was also named supreme commander of the North Korean armed forces. Since the Army is the real foundation of power in North Korea, this was a vital step. Defense Minister Oh Jin-wu, one of Kim Il-sung's most loyal subordinates, engineered Kim Jong-il's acceptance by the Army as the next leader of North Korea, despite his lack of military service. The only other possible leadership candidate, Prime Minister Kim Il (no relation), was removed from his posts in 1976. 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 himself on 15 April that same year.
According to defector Hwang Jang-yop, the North Korean government system became even more centralized and autocratic during the 1980s and 1990s under Kim Jong-il 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 demands absolute obedience and agreement from his ministers and party officials with no advice or compromise, and he views any slight deviation from his thinking as a sign of disloyalty. According to Hwang, Kim Jong-il personally directs even minor details of state affairs, such as the size of houses for party secretaries and the delivery of gifts to his subordinates.[22]
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 1983 bombing in Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar), which killed 17 visiting South Korean officials, including four cabinet members, and another in 1987 which killed all 115 on board Korean Air Flight 858.[23] 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 Jong-il personally.[24]
In 1992, Kim Jong-il's voice was broadcast within North Korea for the first time during a military parade for the KPA's 60th year anniversary in Pyongyang's Kim Il-sung Square, in which Kim Il-sung attended with Kim Jong-il by his side. After Kim Il-sung's speech, and the parade inspection his son approached the microphone at the grandstand in response to the report of the parade inspector and simply said: "Glory to the heroic soldiers of the Korean People's Army!" Everyone in the audience applauded and the parade participants at the square grounds (which included veteran soldiers and officers of the KPA) shouted "ten thousand years" three times after that.
Ruler of North Korea
On 8 July 1994, Kim Il-sung died, at the age of 82 from a heart attack. However, it took three years for Kim Jong-il to consolidate his power. He officially took the titles of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and chairman of the National Defense Commission on 8 October 1997. In 1998, his Defense Commission chairmanship was declared to be "the highest post of the state", so Kim may be regarded as North Korea's head of state from that date. Also in 1998, the Supreme People's Assembly wrote the president's post out of the constitution in memory of Kim Il-Sung, who was designated the country's "Eternal President". It can be argued, though, that he became the country's leader when he became leader of the Workers' Party; in most Communist countries the party leader is the most powerful person in the country.
Officially, Kim was part of a triumvirate heading the executive branch of the North Korean government along with Premier Choe Yong-rim and parliament chairman Kim Yong-nam (no relations). Each nominally has powers equivalent to a third of a president's powers in most other presidential systems. Kim Jong-il is commander of the armed forces, Choe Yong-rim heads the government and Kim Yong-nam handles foreign relations. In practice, however, Kim Jong-il exercised absolute control over the government and the country.
Although Kim was 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 KPA Supreme Commander and Chairman of the DPRK NDC.
Economic policies
The state-controlled 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.[25][26][27] This, compounded with only 18% arable land[28] and an inability to import the goods necessary to sustain industry,[29] led to an immense famine and left North Korea in economic shambles. Faced with a country in decay, Kim adopted a "Military-First" policy (선군정치, Sŏn'gun chŏngch'i) to strengthen the country and reinforce the regime.[30] On the national scale, this policy has produced a positive growth rate for the country since 1996, and the implementation of "landmark socialist-type market economic practices" in 2002 kept the North afloat despite a continued dependency on foreign aid for food.[31]
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 is "fairly limited, but — especially compared to the past — there are now remarkable markets that create the semblance of a free market system."[32] In 2002, Kim Jong-il declared that "money should be capable of measuring the worth of all commodities."[33] 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.[34]
Foreign relations
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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 Jong-il 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 de-militarized zone, with the planned participation of 250 South Korean companies, employing 100,000 North Koreans, by 2007.[35] However, by March 2007, the Park contained only 21 companies — employing 12,000 North Korean workers.[36] As of May 2010 the park employs over 40,000 North Korean workers.[37]
In 1994, North Korea and the United States signed an Agreed Framework which was designed to freeze and eventually dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program in exchange for aid in producing two power-generating nuclear reactors.[38] In 2002, Kim Jong-il's government admitted to having produced nuclear weapons since 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 US under President George W. Bush.[39] On 9 October 2006, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency announced that it had successfully conducted an underground nuclear test.
2008 health and waning power rumors
In an August 2008 issue of the Japanese newsweekly Shukan Gendai, Waseda University professor Toshimitsu Shigemura, an authority on the Korean Peninsula,[40] claimed that Kim Jong-il 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.[41] In a subsequent best-selling book, The True Character of Kim Jong-il, Shigemura cited apparently un-named 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 Jong-il did not appear in public for the Olympic torch relay in Pyongyang on 28 April 2008. The question had reportedly "baffled foreign intelligence agencies for years."[42]
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, US intelligence agencies believed Kim might be "gravely ill" after having suffered a stroke. He had last been seen in public a month earlier.[43][44]
A former CIA official said earlier reports of a health crisis were likely to be 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 US 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 Yongbyon 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."[45]
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." High ranking North Korean official 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."[46] The New York Times reported Kim was "very ill and most likely suffered a stroke a few weeks ago, but US intelligence authorities do not think his death is imminent."[47] 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,"[48][49] although they did confirm that he had suffered from a stroke on 15 August.[50]
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 said Kim occasionally lost consciousness since April.[51] 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 US delay to remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.[52]
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,[53] setting off renewed speculation about the health of the ailing leader.
By 29 October 2008, reports stated Kim suffered a serious setback and had been taken back to hospital.[54] The New York Times reported that 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."[55] 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, 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.[56]
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.[57][58][59][60][61][62] The Times questioned the authenticity of at least one of these photos.[63]
In November 2008, Japan's 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."[64][65] However, South Korea's intelligence agency rejected this report.[65]
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.[66] In July 2009, it was reported that Kim may be suffering from pancreatic cancer.[67][68]
In 2010, documents released by Wikileaks stated that Kim suffers from epilepsy.[69]
Successor
Kim's three sons and his son-in-law, along with O Kuk-ryol, an army general, have been noted as possible successors, but the North Korean government has been wholly silent on this matter.[70] Kim Yong Hyun, a political expert at the Institute for North Korean Studies at Seoul's Dongguk University, has said, "Even the North Korean establishment would not advocate a continuation of the family dynasty at this point."[71] Kim's eldest son Kim Jong-nam was earlier believed to be the designated heir but he appears to have fallen out of favor after being arrested at Narita International Airport near Tokyo in 2001 while traveling on a forged passport.[72]
On 2 June 2009, it was reported that Kim Jong-il's youngest son, Jong Un, was to be North Korea's next leader.[73] Like his father and grandfather, he has also been given an official sobriquet, The Brilliant Comrade.[74] It has been reported that Kim Jong Il is expected to officially designate the son as his successor in 2012.[75] However, there are reports that if leadership passes to one of the sons, Kim Jong Il's brother-in-law, Chang Sung-taek, could attempt to take power from him.[75]
Re-election as DPRK leader
On 9 April 2009, Kim was re-elected as chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission,[76] 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.[77]
2009 imprisonment and pardoning of American journalists
In March 2009, the North Korean military detained two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who were working for the US independent cable television network Current TV, after they allegedly crossed into North Korea from the People's Republic of China without a visa. The two reporters were found guilty of illegal entry and subsequently sentenced to twelve years of hard labor.[78] Reporters Without Borders characterized the trial and sentencing as a "sham trial",[79] and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton initially stated that the charges against the journalists were "baseless".[80]
On 4 August 2009, former US President Bill Clinton met with Kim Jong-il during a "solely private mission to secure the release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling."[81] According to the KCNA, Clinton conveyed a verbal message to Kim from President Barack Obama,[82] a claim denied by the Obama administration.[81] Clinton and Kim had "an exhaustive conversation" that included "a wide-ranging exchange of views on the matters of common concern," KCNA reported.[81] KCNA also reported that the National Defence Commission of North Korea, of which the Dear Leader is the Chairman, hosted a dinner in honor of Clinton, but did not go into detail about what was discussed at the reception.[82] In the early morning hours (UTC+9) of 5 August, KCNA announced that Kim Jong-il had issued a pardon to Lee and Ling.[83]
2010 and 2011 foreign visits
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Dmitry_Medvedev_and_Kim_Jong-il_%282011-08-24%29_02.jpg/220px-Dmitry_Medvedev_and_Kim_Jong-il_%282011-08-24%29_02.jpg)
Kim reportedly visited the People's Republic of China in May 2010. He entered the country by his personal train on 3 May, and stayed in a hotel in Dalian.[84] He travelled to China again in August 2010, this time with his son, fueling speculation that he is ready to hand over power to son Kim Jong-un.[85] 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.[86] In late August 2011, he travelled by train to the Russian Far East to meet with President Dmitri Medvedev for unspecified talks.[87]
Death
It was reported on North Korean state television on December 19, 2011 that Kim Jong-il had died in Pyongyang.[88] The tearful presenter announced that he had died two days earlier of "physical and mental over-work".[89]
Cult of personality
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Kim Jong-il was the centre of an elaborate personality cult inherited from his father and founder of the DPRK, Kim Il-sung. Defectors have been quoted as saying that North Korean schools deify both father and son.[90][page needed] He 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.[91] Many North Koreans believe that he has the "magical" ability to "control the weather" based on his mood.[90] In 2010, the North Korean media reported that Kim's distinctive clothing had set worldwide fashion trends.[92]
One point of view is that Kim Jong Il's cult of personality was solely out of respect for Kim Il-sung or out of fear of punishment for failure to pay homage.[93] Media and government sources from outside of North Korea generally support this view,[94][95][96][97][98] while North Korean government sources say that it was genuine hero worship.[99] The song "No Motherland Without You", sung by the KPA State Merited Choir, was created especially for Kim in 1992 and is frequently broadcasted on the radio and from loudspeakers on the streets of Pyongyang.[100]
Personal life
Family
There is no official information available about Kim Jong-il's marital history, but he is believed to have been officially married once and to have had three mistresses.[101] He has four known children:
- Kim Sul-song (daughter)
- Kim Jong-nam (son)
- Kim Jong-chul (son)
- Kim Jong-un (son)[102]
Kim's first wife, Kim Young-sook, was the daughter of a high-ranking military official. His father Kim Il-Sung handpicked her to marry his son.[101] The two have been estranged for some years. Kim has a daughter from this marriage, Kim Sul-song (born 1974).[102]
Kim's first mistress, Song Hye-rim, was a star of North Korean films. She was married to another man when they met; Kim is reported to have forced her husband to divorce her. The relationship was not officially recognized, and after years of estrangement she is believed to have died in Moscow in the Central Clinical Hospital in 2002.[103] They had one son, Kim Jong-nam (born 1971) who is Kim Jong-il's eldest son.[104]
His second mistress, Ko Young-hee, was a Japanese-born ethnic Korean and a dancer. She had taken over the role of First 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.[104][105]
Since Ko's death, Kim has been living with Kim Ok, his third mistress, who had served as his personal secretary since the 1980s. She "virtually acts as North Korea's first lady" and frequently accompanies Kim on his visits to military bases and in meetings with visiting foreign dignitaries. She traveled with Kim Jong Il on a secretive trip to China in January 2006, where she was received by Chinese officials as Kim's wife.[106]
Kim Jong-il is also reported to have a younger sister, Kim Kyong-Hui (김경희).[107]
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Notes:
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Personality
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Like his father, Kim had a fear of flying,[108] and always traveled by private armored train for state visits to Russia and China. The BBC reported that Konstantin Pulikovsky, a Russian emissary who traveled with Kim across Russia by train, told reporters that Kim had live lobsters air-lifted to the train every day.[109]
Kim was said to be a huge film fan, owning a collection of more than 20,000 video tapes and DVDs.[110] His reported favorite movie franchises included Friday the 13th, Rambo, Godzilla, and Hong Kong action cinema,[111] and any movie starring Elizabeth Taylor.[112] He was the author of the book 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 were kidnapped in order to build a North Korean film industry.[113] In 2006 he was involved in the production of the Juche-based movie Diary of a Girl Student – depicting the life of a girl whose parents are scientists – with a KCNA news report stating that Kim "improved its script and guided its production".[114]
Although Kim enjoyed many foreign forms of entertainment, according to former bodyguard Lee Young Kuk, he refused to consume any food or drink not produced in North Korea, with the exception of wine from France.[115] His former chef Kenji Fujimoto, however, has stated that Kim has sometimes sent him around the world to purchase a variety of foreign delicacies.[116]
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 NBA legend Michael Jordan.[117] Also an apparent golfer, North Korean state media reports that Kim routinely shot three or four holes-in-one per round.[118] His official biography also claims that Kim composed six operas and enjoys staging elaborate musicals.[119] Kim also referred to himself as an Internet expert.[120]
US Special Envoy for the Korean Peace Talks, Charles Kartman, who was involved in the 2000 Madeleine Albright summit with Kim, characterised Kim Jong-il as a reasonable man in negotiations, to the point, but with a sense of humor and personally attentive to the people he was hosting.[121] However, psychological evaluations conclude that Kim Jong-il's antisocial features, such as his fearlessness in the face of sanctions and punishment, serve to make negotiations extraordinarily difficult.[122]
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 Jong-il. The report, compiled by Frederick L. Coolidge and Daniel L. Segal (with the assistance of a South Korean psychiatrist considered an expert on Kim Jong-il's behavior), concluded that the “big six” group of personality disorders shared by dictators Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Saddam Hussein (sadistic, paranoid, antisocial, narcissistic, schizoid and schizotypal) were also shared by Kim Jong-il—coinciding primarily with the profile of Saddam Hussein.[122] The evaluation also finds that Kim Jong-il 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.[122] This notion also encourages other cognitive issues, such as self-deception, as subsidiary components to Kim Jong-il's personality. Many of the stories about Kim Jong Il's eccentricities and decadent life-style are exaggerated, possibly circulated by South Korean intelligence to discredit the Northern regime.[123] Defectors claim that Kim has 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 a palace complex northeast of Pyongyang surrounded with multiple fence lines, bunkers and anti-aircraft batteries.[124]
Finances
According to the Sunday Telegraph, Kim has US$4 billion on deposit in European banks in case he ever needs to flee North Korea. The Sunday Telegraph reported that most of the money was in banks in Luxembourg.[125]
Official titles
- Party Center of the WPK (1970s)
- Vice-Chairman, WPK Central Committee (1972–80)
- Dear Leader (Chinaehanuen Jidoja) (late 1970s–1994)
- Intelligent Leader (1973–84)
- Member, Presidum of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK
- Secretary of the Worker's Party of Korea (1980–94)
- Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army (25 December 1991–)
- Marshal of the DPRK (1993–)
- Chairman, National Defense Commission of North Korea (1993–)
- Great Leader (Widehan Ryongdoja) (July 1994–)
- General Secretary, Workers Party of Korea (1997–)
- Supreme Leader of the People's Republic (2009–)
See also
Notes and references
- ^ Chung, Byoung-sun (22 August 2002), "Sergeyevna Remembers Kim Jong Il", The Chosun Ilbo, retrieved 19 February 2007
- ^ Sheets, Lawrence (12 February 2004), "A Visit to Kim Jong Il's Russian Birthplace", National Public Radio, retrieved 19 February 2007
- ^ "CNN.com". CNN.
- ^ "Kim Jong-Il, Kim Il-Sung - In the Family Business - North Korea: Secrets and Lies - Photo Gallery". LIFE. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ a b "BBC News - N Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ McGivering, Jill (29 September 2009). "N Korea constitution bolsters Kim". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0456012/
- ^ "NKorea prints photos of heir apparent Kim Jong Un". AP News. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ The 100 Most Powerful People in the World, Forbes Magazine
- ^ "Profile: Kim Jong-Il" BBC News. Ed. Steve Herrmann. 9 October 2006. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
- ^ "Biography of the Dear Leader Kim Jong Il". Korea-dpr.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
- ^ Kim Jong Il - Short Biography. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Press, 1998, p. 1.
- ^ Korea North General Secretary Kim Jong Il. USA International Business Publications. 2002. p. 37. ISBN 0739711970.
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(help) - ^ a b Post, Jerrold M. (2004). Leaders and their followers in a dangerous world: the psychology of political behavior. Cornell University Press. pp. 243–244. ISBN 9780801441691.
{{cite book}}
: Unknown parameter|coauthors=
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suggested) (help) - ^ "The Kims' North Korea", Asia Times, 4 June 2005.
- ^ Martin, Bradley K. (2004). Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader, New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-32221-6
- ^ Kim Jong Il - Short Biography. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Press, 1998, p. 4.
- ^ Calleja, Stephen (7 February 2010). "1982 Labour government "secret" agreement with North Korea - 'Times change' – Alex Sceberras Trigona". The Malta Independent. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
- ^ "Kim is a baby rattling the sides of a cot", Guardian Unlimited, 30 December 2002.
- ^ "Happy Birthday, Dear Leader - who's next in line?", Asia Times, 14 February 2004.
- ^ "North Korea's dear leader less dear", Fairfax Digital, 19 November 2004.
- ^ "Testimony of Hwang Jang-yop".
- ^ "North Korea: Nuclear Standoff", The Online NewsHour, PBS, 19 October 2006.
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- ^ Noland, Marcus (2004). "Famine and Reform in North Korea". Asian Economic Papers. 3 (2): 1–40. doi:10.1162/1535351044193411?journalCode=asep.
- ^ Haggard, Nolan, Sen (2009). Famine in North Korea: Markets, Aid, and Reform. p. 209. ISBN 9780231140010.
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
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "North Korea: A terrible truth". The Economist. 17 April 1997. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- ^ "North Korea Agriculture", Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. Retrieved 11 March 2007.
- ^ "Other Industry - North Korean Targets" Federation of American Scientists, 15 June 2000.
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- ^ "Kim Jong-il's military-first policy a silver bullet", Asia Times Online, 4 January 2007.
- ^ "North Korea's Capitalist Experiment", Council on Foreign Relations, 8 June 2006.
- ^ "On North Korea's streets, pink and tangerine buses", Christian Science Monitor, 2 June 2005.
- ^ "Inside North Korea: A Joint U.S.-Chinese Dialogue", United States Institute of Peace, January 2007.
- ^ "Asan, KOLAND Permitted to Develop Kaesong Complex", The Korea Times, 23 April 2004.
- ^ "S. Korea denies U.S. trade pact will exclude N. Korean industrial park", Yonhap News, 7 March 2007.
- ^ "South Korea dials back tough talk over Cheonan sinking", Christian Science Monitor, 31 May 2010.
- ^ "History of the 'Agreed Framework' and how it was broken", About: U.S. Gov Info/Resources, 12 March 2007.
- ^ "Motivation Behind North Korea's Nuclear Confession", GLOCOM Platform, 28 October 2002.
- ^ Sheridan, Michael (7 September 2008). "North Korea 'uses doubles to hide death of Kim'". The Times. London. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
- ^ "N Korea's Kim died in 2003; replaced by lookalike, says Waseda professor", Japan Today, 24 August 2008.
- ^ Sheridan, Michael, "North Korea ‘uses doubles to hide death of Kim’", Sunday Times, 7 September 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
- ^ "U.S.: Kim Jong Il may have suffered stroke". MSNBC. 9 September 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2008.
- ^ "US intel thinks North Korean leader Kim Jong Il may be sick after he fails to show at parade". Star Tribune. 9 September 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2008. [dead link]
- ^ Hess, Pamela and Lee, Matthew, Kim Jong Il may be gravely ill, jeopardizing talks, Associated Press, 9 September 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
- ^ "AFP.Google.com, NKorea's Kim suffered minor stroke: report".
- ^ "english.kbs.co.kr, 'NK Leader Suffered Stroke, Death Not Imminent'".
- ^ "Mystery has surrounded Kim Jong Il". CNN. 10 September 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "N Korea insists Kim is not unwell". BBC News. 10 September 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
- ^ Jae-Soon Chang (11 September 2008). "N Korea: Kim Had Brain Surgery". TIME. Associated Press. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
- ^ "theseoultimes.com, Kim collapsed on Aug. 14".
- ^ "asia.news.yahoo.com, Kim Jong Il Out of Public View as Major Holiday Passes".
- ^ "Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper".
- ^ "Report sparks more speculation on Kim Jong Il's health".
- ^ Onishi, Norimitsu (29 October 2008). "Kim Jong-Il Hospitalized but at Helm, Japan Says". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "LCI, Corée du Nord: Le chirurgien français dément toute visite à Kim Jong II".
- ^ "AFP.Google.com". Retrieved 11 March 2010.
- ^ (AFP) (4 November 2008). "AFP.Google.com, French brain surgeon admits visiting Pyongyang: report". Google. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
- ^ edition.cnn.com, N. Korea: Kim Jong Il tours military units[dead link]
- ^ http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/04/nkorea.kim.ap/art.korea.ap.jpg
- ^ "news.xinhuanet.com/english, Kim Jong Il watches army training". News.xinhuanet.com. 5 November 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
- ^ "Xinhuanet.com". Retrieved 11 March 2010.
- ^ Hamilton, Fiona (7 November 2008). "Kim Jong Il: digital trickery or an amazing recovery from a stroke?". The Times. London. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ Shears, Richard (11 November 2008). "dailymail.co.uk, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il 'suffers second stroke'". Daily Mail. London.
- ^ a b "Kim Jong-il had possible second stroke". Reuters. 11 November 2008.
- ^ BBC: Video of Kim Jong-il, 7 April 2009.
- ^ Sang-Hun, Choe (12 July 2009). "Kim Jong-il Said to Have Pancreatic Cancer". New York Times. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- ^ "Kim Jong-il Said to Have Pancreatic Cancer". BBC News. 12 July 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- ^ Hutchison, Peter (28 November 2010). "WikiLeaks: US referred to Ahmadinejad as 'Hitler'". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
- ^ "Possible successors to North Korea's Kim". Reuters. 10 September 2008.
- ^ "North Korea silent over Kim Jong Il successor", India eNews, 14 February 2007.
- ^ "Japan deports man claiming to be Kim Jong-Nam", ABC News: The World Today, 4 May 2001 (see also: Family tree)
- ^ North Korean leader Kim Jong-il 'names youngest son as successor', The Guardian, 2 June 2009.
- ^ "North Korea: A 'Brilliant Comrade'". The New York Times. 12 June 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ^ a b "Report: NKorea's Kim has pancreatic cancer", Associated Press, 12 July 2009.
- ^ "KCNA.co.jp". KCNA.co.jp. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
- ^ N Korea leader appears in public, BBC News Online, 9 April 2009.
- ^ Herskovitz, Jon (8 June 2009). "N.Korea finds US journalists guilty, 12 yr sentence". Reuters. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ "American reporters get "very severe" 12-year sentences designed to scare all foreign journalists" (Document). Reporters Sans Frontières. 8 June 2009.
{{cite document}}
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ignored (help)CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ "North Korea jails US journalists". BBC News. 8 June 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ a b c "Bill Clinton meets with N. Korea leader". CNN. 4 August 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
- ^ a b "Clinton Conveys Obama's Message to NK Leader". Korean Broadcasting System. 4 August 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
- ^ "N. Korean leader reportedly pardons U.S. journalists". CNN. 4 August 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
- ^ "North Korea's Kim 'visits China'". BBC News. 3 May 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ McCurry, Justin; Watts, Jonathan (26 August 2010). "North Korean leader Kim Jong-il 'visiting China with his son'". London: BBC News. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ http://www.china.org.cn/video/2011-05/27/content_22651894.htm
- ^ Kim Il-Jong Visits Russia to Meet with President Medvedev by Michale Schwirtz, New York Times, 21 August 2011
- ^ "North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, 69, has died". Associated Press. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ "N Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies". BBC News. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ a b Chol-hwan Kang and Pierre Rigoulot (2005). The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag, Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-01104-7.
- ^ "North Korea marks leader's birthday". BBC. 16 February 2002. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
- ^ http://www.france24.com/en/20100407-nkorea-leader-sets-world-fashion-trend-pyongyang
- ^ Mansourov, Alexandre. ""Korean Monarch Kim Jong Il: Technocrat Ruler of the Hermit Kingdom Facing the Challenge of Modernity", The Nautilus Institute". Archived from the original on 16 August 2007. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
- ^ Scanlon, Charles (16 February 2007). "Nuclear deal fuels Kim's celebrations". BBC. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
- ^ Coonan, Clifford (21 October 2006). "Kim Jong Il, the tyrant with a passion for wine, women and the bomb". The Independent. London. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
- ^ Richard Lloyd Parry. "'Dear Leader' clings to power while his people pay the price", The Times. 10 October 2006. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
- ^ "North Korea's 'Dear Leader' flaunts nuclear prowess". The New Zealand Herald. Reuters. 10 October 2006. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ Compiled by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" US Department of State. 25 February 2004. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
- ^ Jason LaBouyer "When friends become enemies — Understanding left-wing hostility to the DPRK" Lodestar. May/June 2005: pp. 7–9. Korea-DPR.com. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
- ^ Marshall Cavendish Corporation (2007). World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia. Marshall Cavendish. p. 929. ISBN 9780761476313.
- ^ a b "The Women in Kim's Life".Time Asia, 23 June 2003.
- ^ a b "Kim Jong-Il's Daughter Serves as His Secretary", The Seoul Times.
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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.
- ^ a b "Kim's Secret Family", Time Asia, 23 June 2003.
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Further reading
- Jasper Becker, "Rogue Regime: Kim John Il and the Looming Threat of North Korea", Oxford University Press (October 2006), Softcover, 328 pages, ISBN 0-19-530891-3
- Michael Breen, Kim Jong-il: North Korea's Dear Leader, John Wiley and Sons (January 2004), hardcover, 228 pages, ISBN 0-470-82131-0
- Bradley Martin, Under The Loving Care Of The Fatherly Leader: North Korea And The Kim Dynasty, St. Martins (October 2004), hardcover, 868 pages, ISBN 0-312-32221-6
- Kim Chol U, Army-Centred Politics Of Kim Jong Il, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Pyongyang, North Korea, 2002, Softcover, 98 pages
- Kim Jong Il Brief History, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Pyongyang, North Korea, 1998, Hardcover, 149 pages
- Kim Jong Il Short Biography, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Pyongyang, North Korea, 2001, Hardcover, 215 pages
- Pae Kyong Su, Kim Jong Il The Individual Thoughts And Leadership Vol. 1, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Pyongyang, North Korea, 1993, Softcover, 225 pages
- Pae Kyong Su, Kim Jong Il The Individual Thoughts And Leadership Vol. 2, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Pyongyang, North Korea, 1995, Softcover, 164 pages
- Nada Takashi, Korea In Kim Jong Il's Era, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Pyongyang, North Korea, 2000, Softcover, 163 pages
- Li Il Bok, The Great Man Kim Jong Il, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Pyongyang, North Korea, 1989, Softcover, 167 pages
- Ri Il Bok, The Great Man Kim Jong Il Vol. 2, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Pyongyang, North Korea, 1995, Softcover, 84 pages
- Jo Song Baek, The Leadership Philosophy Of Kim Jong Il, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Pyongyang, North Korea, 1999, Softcover, 261 pages
- Guiding Light General Kim Jong Il, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Pyongyang, North Korea, 1997, Softcover, 357 pages
External links
- Template:PDFlink – Foreign Languages Publishing House, Pyongyang DPR Korea (1998)
- Born in the USSR – Kim Jong-il's childhood.
- The many family secrets of Kim Jong Il
- "Hidden Daughter" Visits Kim Jong-il Every Year (also includes photos of Kim during his youth)
- Template:Ko icon Kim's family tree
- BBC, North Korea's secretive 'first family'
- BBC, Profile: Kim Jong-il
- BBC, Who will succeed N Korea's Kim Jong-il?
- Recent deaths
- Wikipedia neutral point of view disputes from July 2010
- Use dmy dates from August 2010
- 1940s births
- 2011 deaths
- Alumni of the University of Malta
- Anti-Revisionists
- Communist rulers
- Current national leaders
- Heads of state of North Korea
- Kim Il-sung family
- Korean expatriates in the Soviet Union
- Leaders of political parties in North Korea
- Marxist theorists
- Members of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea
- Military brats
- North Korean billionaires
- People from Khabarovsk Krai
- People with epilepsy
- Stroke survivors
- Workers' Party of Korea politicians