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{{Wiktionary|orange}}
{{Korean name|[[Kim (Korean name)|Kim]]}}
{{Infobox President
| name = Kim Il-sung<br />김일성<br />金日成
| image =Kim Il-sung 1984.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Kim during a visit to [[East Germany]], 1984.
| office1=[[President of North Korea]]
| term1=28 December 1972 - 8 July 1994<br>({{age in years and days|1972|12|28|1994|7|8}})
| predecessor1= '''Position created'''<br><small>[[Choi Yong-kun]], Head of State as President of the [[Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly]]
| successor1= '''Position abolished'''<br><small>(Proclaimed [[Eternal President of the Republic]] after his death)
| office2=[[General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea]]
| term2= 30 June 1949 - 8 July 1994<br>({{age in years and days|1949|6|30|1994|7|8}})
| successor2=[[Kim Jong-il]]
| office3=[[Premier of North Korea]]
| term3=9 September 1948 - 28 December 1972<br>({{age in years and days|1948|9|9|1972|12|28}})
| successor3=[[Kim Il (Premier of North Korea)|Kim Il]] (Premier)
| office4=[[Eternal President of the Republic|Eternal President]]
| term_start4=8 July 1994<br>({{age in years and days|1994|7|8}})
| birth_date={{Birth date|1912|4|15|df=y}}
| birth_place=[[Mangyŏngdae]], [[P'yŏngan-namdo|Heian-nando]], [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese Korea]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1994|7|8|1912|4|15|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Pyongyang]], [[North Korea]]
| nationality = [[North Korean]]
| party = [[Workers’ Party of Korea]]
| spouse = [[Kim Jong-suk]] (d. 1949)<br />[[Kim Song-ae]]
| relations =
| children = [[Kim Jong-il]]<br> [[Kim Man-il]]<br> [[Kim Kyong-jin]]<br> [[Kim Pyong-il]]<br> Kim Yong-il
| residence =
| alma_mater =
| occupation =
| profession =
| religion = Juche<ref>http://www.adherents.com/largecom/Juche.html</ref>
| signature = Kim Il Sung Signature.svg
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
{{Infobox Korean name
| context = north
| title = [[Korean name]]
| hangul = 김일성
| hanja = 金日成
| mr = Kim Il-sŏng
| rr = Gim Il-seong
| tablewidth = 265
| color = lavender
}}
{{Politics of North Korea}}
''' Kim Il-sung''' ([[Korean language|Korean]]: 김일성, [[Hanja]]: 金日成<ref>Rodongja Sinmum, 8 December 2009</ref>;15 April 1912&nbsp;– 8 July 1994) was a [[Koreans|Korean]] [[communist]], and later [[Juche]], politician who led [[North Korea]] from its founding in 1948 until his death.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailynk.com/korean/read.php?cataId=nk00500&num=55181 |title=
김일성, 쿠바의 ‘혁명영웅’ 체게바라를 만난 날 |language=Korean |date=2008-04-15 |work=DailyNK}}</ref> He held the posts of [[Prime Minister of North Korea|Prime Minister]] from 1948 to 1972 and [[President of North Korea|President]] from 1972 to his death. He was also the [[General Secretary]] of the [[Workers Party of Korea]].


'''Orange''' may refer to:
During his tenure as leader of North Korea, he ruled the nation with [[autocracy|autocratic]] power and established an all-pervasive [[cult of personality]]. From the mid-1960s, he promoted his self-developed ''[[Juche]]'' variant of [[communist]] national organisation.<ref name="Herman2004">{{cite web | publisher = Asian Research | url = http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2209.html | title = North Korea: ten years later | last = Herman | first = Steve | date = 2004-07-13 | accessdate = 2008-11-02}}</ref> Following his death in 1994, he was succeeded by his son [[Kim Jong-il]]. North Korea officially refers to Kim Il-sung as the "Great Leader" (''Suryong'' in Korean 수령) and he is designated in the constitution as the country's "[[Eternal President of the Republic|Eternal President]]". His birthday is a [[public holidays in North Korea|public holiday in North Korea]].
* [[Orange (fruit)]]
* [[Orange (colour)]]
{{TOC right}}


==Early years==
==History and politics==
;The Netherlands
Much of the early records of his life come from his own personal accounts and official North Korean government publications, which often conflict with independent sources. Nevertheless, there is some consensus on at least the basic story of his early life, corroborated by witnesses from the period.
* [[House of Orange-Nassau]], the royal family of the Netherlands and a branch of the House of Nassau
* [[Prince of Orange]], a title of nobility borne by the heir apparent of the House of Orange
* [[Principality of Orange]], former principality in the Holy Roman Empire centred upon the town of Orange, now lying in the south of France
* [[William III of Orange]], one of several princes with the title Prince of Orange


;Northern Ireland
Kim was born to [[Kim Hyong-jik|Kim Hyŏng-jik]] and Kang Pan-sŏk, who gave him the name '''Kim Sŏng-ju''', and had two younger brothers, Ch’ŏl-chu and Yŏng-ju. The ancestral seat (''[[bon-gwan|pon’gwan]]'') of Kim's family is [[Jeonju|Chŏnju]], [[Jeollabuk-do|North Chŏlla Province]], and what little that is known about the family contends that sometime around the time of the Korean-Japanese war of 1592–98, a direct ancestor moved north. The claim may be understood in light of the fact that the early Chosŏn government’s policy of populating the north resulted in mass resettlement of southern farmers in Phyŏngan and Hamgyŏng regions in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. At any rate, the majority of the Chŏnju Kim today live in North Korea, and extant Chŏnju Kim genealogies provide spotty records. Moreover, a persistent rumour alleges that during the North Korean occupation of Seoul in the [[Korean War]], the North Koreans collected all the available Chŏnju Kim genealogies and took them to the [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea]]{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}}.
* [[Orange Institution]], a Protestant organization whose members are known as Orangemen
* [[Independent Orange Order]], an offshoot of the Orange Institution


;Other
The exact history of Kim's family is somewhat obscure. The family was neither very poor nor comfortably well-off, but was always a step away from poverty. Kim was raised in a [[Presbyterian]] family; his maternal grandfather was a Protestant [[Minister (Christianity)|minister]], his father had gone to a missionary school and was an elder in the Presbyterian Church, and both his parents were reportedly very active in the religious community. Kim was an accomplished church organist.<ref>http://www.kimjongiliathemovie.com/learnmore.html</ref><ref>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-486079/PETER-HITCHENS-North-Korea-great-Marxist-bastion-real-life-Truman-show.html</ref><ref>http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-rage-against-god-by-peter-hitchens-1965109.html</ref> According to the official version, Kim’s family participated in anti-Japanese activities and in 1920 they fled to [[Manchuria]]. The more objective view seems to be that his family settled in Manchuria like many Koreans at the time to escape famine. Nonetheless, Kim’s parents apparently did play a minor role in some activist groups, though whether their cause was missionary, nationalist, or both is unclear.<ref name="formation53">Lankov, Andrei, ''From Stalin to Kim Il Sung: The Formation of North Korea 1945–1960'', Rutgers University Press (2002), p. 53.</ref><ref name="Rogue">{{cite book |title=Rogue Regime: Kim Jong Il and the Looming Threat of North Korea |last=Becker|first=Jasper |authorlink=Jasper Becker |coauthors= |year=2005 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=[[New York City]] |isbn=019517044X|}}</ref>
* [[Orange Democratic Movement]], a political party in Kenya
* [[Orange Revolution]], a series of protests and political events in Ukraine
* [[War Plan Orange]], a series of United States war plans


==Geography==
Kim's father died in 1926, when Kim was fourteen years old. Kim attended Yuwen Middle School in [[Jilin]] from 1927 to 1930,<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/28/world/asia/28korea.html?_r=1&hp</ref>, where he rejected the feudal traditions of older generation Koreans and became interested in Communist ideologies; his formal education ended when he was arrested and jailed for his subversive activities. At seventeen, Kim had become the youngest member of an underground Marxist organization with fewer than twenty members, led by Hŏ So, who belonged to the South Manchurian Communist Youth Association. The police discovered the group three weeks after it was formed in 1929, and jailed Kim for several months.<ref>Lankov, Andrei, ''From Stalin to Kim Il Sung: The Formation of North Korea 1945-1960, '' Rutgers University Press (2002), p. 52.</ref><ref>Suh Dae-Sook, ''Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader'', [[Columbia University Press]] (1998) p. 7.</ref>
In '''Australia''':
* [[Orange, New South Wales]]


In '''France''':
==== Communist and guerrilla activities ====
* [[Orange, Vaucluse]]
The [[Communist Party of Korea]] had been founded in 1925, but had been thrown out of the [[Comintern]] in the early 1930s for being too nationalist. In 1931, Kim had joined the [[Communist Party of China]]. He joined various anti-Japanese guerrilla groups in northern China, and in 1935 he became a member of the [[Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army]], a guerrilla group led by the [[Communist Party of China]]. Kim was appointed the same year to serve as political commissar for the 3rd detachment of the second division, around 160 soldiers.<ref name= "formation53" /> It was here that Kim met the man who would become his mentor as a Communist, [[Wei Zhengmin]], Kim’s immediate superior officer, who was serving at the time as chairman of the Political Committee of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. Wei reported directly to [[Kang Sheng]], a high-ranking party member close to [[Mao Zedong]] in [[Yan'an]], until Wei’s death on March 8, 1941.<ref>Suh Dae-Sook, ''Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader'', Columbia University Press (1998) pp. 8–10.</ref>


In '''South Africa''':
Also in 1935 Kim took the name Kim Il-sung, meaning "become the sun."<ref>{{cite book|title=Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty|author=Bradley K. Martin|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|date=2004|isbn=0312323220}}</ref> The name had previously been used by a prominent early leader of the Korean resistance.<ref name="Rogue"/> Soviet propagandist Grigory Mekler, who claims to have prepared Kim to lead North Korea, says that Kim assumed this name while in the Soviet Union in the early 1940s from a former commander who had died.<ref>{{cite news
* [[Orange Free State]], former name of the Free State province
|author=Staff writer
* [[Orange River]]
|date=
* [[Orange River Colony]]
|title=Soviets groomed Kim Il Sung for leadership
|url=http://vn.vladnews.ru/Arch/2003/ISS345/News/upd10.HTM
|accessdate=
|work=Vladivostok News}}</ref>
On the other hand, some Koreans simply did not believe that someone as young as Kim could have anything to do with the legend.<ref>{{cite interview
|subject=Hong An
|url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/coldwar/interviews/episode-5/hong1.html
|accessdate=
|callsign=CNN
|city=Washington, DC
|date=
|program=''The Cold War''}}</ref> Historian [[Andrei Lankov]] has claimed that the rumor [[Kim Il-Sung]] was somehow switched with the “original” Kim is unlikely to be true. Several witnesses knew Kim before and after his time in the Soviet Union, including his superior, [[Zhou Baozhong]], who dismissed the claim of a “second” Kim in his diaries.<ref>Lankov, Andrei, ''From Stalin to Kim Il Sung: The Formation of North Korea 1945–1960, '' Rutgers University Press (2002), p. 55.</ref>


In the '''United States''':
[[File:Kim Il Song Portrait.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Portrait of Kim Il-sung.]]
* [[Orange, California]]
[[Image:Kim Il Song's Birthplace.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Kim Il Sung's birthplace in [[Mangyongdae-guyok]]]]
* [[Orange, Connecticut]]
* [[Orange, Indiana]]
* [[Orange, Massachusetts]]
* [[Orange, New Hampshire]]
* [[Orange, New Jersey]]
* [[Orange, New York]]
* [[Orange, North Dakota]]
* [[Orange, Ohio]]
* [[Orange, Texas]]
* [[Orange, Virginia]]
{{See also|Orange City (disambiguation)|Orange County (disambiguation)|Orange Township (disambiguation)|Orangeville (disambiguation)}}


==Sports==
Kim was appointed commander of the 6th division in 1937, at the age of 24, controlling a few hundred men in a group that came to be known as “Kim Il Sung’s division.” It was while he was in command of this division that he executed a raid on [[Poch’onbo]], on June 4. Although Kim’s division only captured a small Japanese-held town just across the Korean border for a few hours, it was nonetheless considered a military success at this time, when the guerrilla units had experienced difficulty in capturing any enemy territory. This accomplishment would grant Kim some measure of fame among Chinese guerrillas, and North Korean biographies would later exploit it as a great victory for Korea. Kim was appointed commander of the 2nd operational region for the 1st Army, but by the end of 1940, he was the only 1st Army leader still alive. Pursued by Japanese troops, Kim and what remained of his army escaped by crossing the [[Amur River]] into the [[Soviet Union]].<ref>Lankov, Andrei, ''From Stalin to Kim Il Sung: The Formation of North Korea 1945–1960,'' Rutgers University Press (2002), pp. 53–54.</ref> Kim was sent to a camp near [[Khabarovsk]], where the Korean Communist guerrillas were retrained by the Soviets. Kim became a [[Captain (OF-2)|Captain]] in the Soviet [[Red Army]] and served in it until the end of [[World War II]].
* [[Orange (bicycles)]], a bicycle maker
* [[Syracuse Orange]], the athletic teams of Syracuse University
* [[Netherlands national football team]], nicknamed "Orange"


==Music==
In later years, Kim would heavily embellish his guerrilla feats in order to build up his personality cult. He was portrayed as a boy-conspirator who joined the resistance at 14 and had founded a battle-ready army at 19. North Korean students are taught that this Kim-led army singlehandedly drove the Japanese off the peninsula.<ref name="Rogue"/>
* [[Orange (Al Stewart album)|''Orange'' (Al Stewart album)]], a 1972 folk recording
* [[Orange (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion album)|''Orange'' (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion album)]], a 1994 alternative rock recording
* [[Orange (song)|"Orange" (song)]], a 2007 comedy rock song by David O'Doherty
* "[[L'Orange]]", a 1964 pop song by Gilbert Bécaud
* [[Orange Music Electronic Company]], an amplifier maker
* [[Orange Record Label]], a recording publisher
* A song by Love Battery on ''[[Between the Eyes]]''


==Return to Korea==
==Other uses==
* [[Orange (name)]], a surname and given name
When the [[Soviet Union]] declared war on Japan in August 1945, it fully expected a long, drawn-out conflict. However, much to Stalin's surprise, the Red Army churned into Pyongyang with almost no resistance on August 15. Stalin realized he needed someone to head a puppet regime. He asked [[Lavrenty Beria]] to recommend possible candidates. Beria met Kim several times before recommending him to Stalin. It is widely believed that Kim was selected over several more qualified candidates because he had no ties to the native Communist movement.<ref name="Rogue"/>
* [[Oranges (film)|''Oranges'' (film)]], a 2008 American film

* [[Orange (2010 Telugu film)|''Orange'' (2010 Telugu film)]]
Kim arrived in North Korea on August 22 after 26 years in exile. According to Leonid Vassin, an officer with the Soviet [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Russia)|MVD]], Kim was essentially "created from zero." For one, his Korean was marginal at best; he'd only had eight years of formal education, all of it in Chinese. He needed considerable coaching to read a speech the MVD prepared for him at a Communist Party congress three days after he arrived. They also systematically destroyed most of the true leaders of the resistance who ended up north of the 38th parallel.<ref name="Rogue"/>
* [[Orange (2010 Malayalam film)|''Orange'' (2010 Malayalam film)]]

* [[Orange (heraldry)]], a tincture used in heraldry
In September 1945, Kim was installed by the Soviets as head of the Provisional People’s Committee. He was not, at this time, the head of the Communist Party, whose headquarters were in [[Seoul]] in the [[United States|U.S.]]-occupied south. During his early years as leader, he assumed a position of influence largely due to the backing of the Korean population which was supportive of his fight against Japanese occupation.
* [[Orange (software)]], a data analysis software suite

* [[Orange (telecommunications)]], a telecommunications operator
[[File:Kim Il-sung 1946.JPG|thumb|left|Kim Il-sung in 1946]]
* [[Orange (word)]], the language element
One of Kim’s accomplishments was his establishment of a professional army, the ''[[Korean People's Army]]'' (KPA) aligned with the Communists, formed from a cadre of guerrillas and former soldiers who had gained combat experience in battles against the Japanese and later [[Nationalist Chinese]] troops. From their ranks, using Soviet advisers and equipment, Kim constructed a large army skilled in infiltration tactics and guerrilla warfare. Before the outbreak of the Korean War, [[Joseph Stalin]] equipped the KPA with modern heavy tanks, trucks, artillery, and small arms. Kim also formed an air force, equipped at first with ex-Soviet propeller-driven fighter and attack aircraft. Later, North Korean pilot candidates were sent to the Soviet Union and China to train in [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15|MiG-15]] jet aircraft at secret bases.<ref>Blair, Clay, ''The Forgotten War: America in Korea'', [[Naval Institute Press]] (2003).</ref>
* [[Orange Micro]], a computer hardware company

* [[The Box (New Zealand TV channel)]], an entertainment stream
Although original plans called for all-Korean elections sponsored by the [[United Nations]], in May 1948 the South declared statehood as the [[South Korea|Republic of Korea]], and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was proclaimed on September 9, with Kim as premier. On October 12, the Soviet Union declared that Kim's regime was the only lawful government on the peninsula. The Communist Party merged with the [[New People's Party (Korea)|New People's Party]] to form the [[Workers Party of North Korea]] (of which Kim was vice-chairman). In 1949, the Workers Party of North Korea merged with its [[Workers Party of South Korea|southern counterpart]] to become the [[Workers Party of Korea]] (WPK) with Kim as party chairman.

By 1949, North Korea was a full-fledged Communist dictatorship. All parties and mass organizations were cajoled into the [[Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland]], ostensibly a [[popular front]] but in reality dominated by the Communists. Around this time, Kim built the first of many statues of himself and began calling himself "the Great Leader."

==Korean War==
{{Main|Korean War}}

The government of U.S. occupied South Korea (ROK) usurped power from locally controlled "People’s Committees" and reinstalled many of the former land owners and police who had held office when Korea was under Japanese colonial rule. These moves were met with heavy resistance and open rebellion in some parts of South Korea such as the southern islands.<ref>Cumings, Bruce, ''The Origins of the Korean war,'' [[Princeton University Press]] (1981, 1990)</ref> After several altercations at the border, it appeared that civil war might be inevitable. North Korean troops invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950 intending to use force to unify the country under a communist government. The invasion was also fueled by the [[Jeju massacre]] in which 60,000 communists were killed on Jeju Island in the South.<ref name=nw000619>{{cite news
|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2000/06/18/ghosts-of-cheju.html
|title=Ghosts Of Cheju
|newspaper = [[Newsweek]]
|date = 2000-06-19
|accessdate = 2010-07-24
}}</ref> Evidence suggests that the North’s bid to reunify the country was met with a wide range of popular support across the south.<ref>Cumings, Bruce, ''The Origins of the Korean war,'' Princeton University Press (1981, 1990)</ref>

Archival material suggests<ref name="weathersby432">Weathersby, Kathryn, ''The Soviet Role in the Early Phase of the Korean War,'' The Journal of American-East Asian Relations 2, no. 4 (Winter 1993): 432</ref><ref name="goncharov">Goncharov, Sergei N., Lewis, John W. and Xue Litai, ''Uncertain Partners: Stalin, Mao, and the Korean War'' (1993)</ref><ref name="mansourov94107">Mansourov, Aleksandr Y., ''Stalin, Mao, Kim, and China’s Decision to Enter the Korean War, September 16&nbsp;– October 15, 1950: New Evidence from the Russian Archives,'' Cold War International History Project Bulletin, Issues 6–7 (Winter 1995/1996): 94–107</ref> that the decision was Kim's own initiative rather than a Soviet one. Evidence suggests that Soviet intelligence, through its espionage sources in the U.S. government and British [[Secret Intelligence Service|SIS]], had obtained information on the limitations of U.S. atomic bomb stockpiles as well as defense program cuts, leading Stalin to conclude that the [[Harry S. Truman|Truman]] administration would not intervene in Korea.<ref>Sudoplatov, Pavel Anatoli, Schecter, Jerrold L., and Schecter, Leona P., ''Special Tasks: The Memoirs of an Unwanted Witness&nbsp;— A Soviet Spymaster'', Little Brown, Boston (1994)</ref>

The [[People’s Republic of China]] acquiesced only reluctantly to the idea of Korean reunification after being told by Kim that Stalin had approved the action,<ref name="weathersby432" /><ref name="goncharov" /><ref name="mansourov94107" /> and did not provide direct military support (other than logistics channels) until [[United Nations]] troops, largely U.S. forces, had nearly reached the [[Yalu River]] late in 1950. North Korean forces captured Seoul and occupied most of the South, but were soon driven back by the U.S.-led counter attack. However, North Koreans are taught to this day that it was the ''South'' who invaded the North, and the KPA's sweep through the South was merely a counterattack. By October, UN forces had retaken Seoul and on October 19 captured P’yŏngyang, forcing Kim and his government to flee north, first to [[Sinuiju]] and eventually into China.

On 25 October 1950, after sending various warnings of their intent to intervene if UN forces did not halt their advance, Chinese troops in the thousands crossed the Yalu River and entered the war as allies of the KPA. The UN troops were forced to withdraw and Chinese troops retook P’yŏngyang in December and Seoul in January 1951. In March U.N. forces began a new offensive, retaking Seoul. After a series of offensives and counter-offensives by both sides, followed by a gruelling period of largely static trench warfare, the front was stabilized along what eventually became the permanent "[[Military Demarcation Line|Armistice Line]]" of 27 July 1953. During the stalemate warfare, [[North Korea]] was devastated by U.S. air raids with very few buildings left standing in the capital and elsewhere in the country. By the time of the armistice, upwards of 3.5 million Koreans on both sides had died in the conflict.

==Leader of North Korea==
Restored as the leader of North Korea, Kim returned to the country after war's end and immediately embarked on a large reconstruction effort for the country devastated by the war. He launched a five-year national economic plan to establish a [[command economy]], with all industry owned by the state and all agriculture [[collectivization|collectivised]]. The nation was founded on egalitarian principles intent on eliminating class differences and the economy was based upon the needs of workers and peasants. The economy was focused on heavy industry and arms production. Both South and North Korea retained huge armed forces to defend the 1953 ceasefire line, although no foreign troops were permanently stationed in North Korea.

Kim's hold on power was rather shaky. To strengthen it, he claimed that the United States deliberately spread diseases among the North Korean population. While Moscow and Beijing later determined that these charges were false, they continued to help spread this rumour for many years to come. He also conducted North Korea's first large-scale purges in part to scare the people into accepting this false account. Unlike Stalin's [[Great Purge]], these took place without even the formalities of a trial. Victims often simply [[forced disappearance|disappeared]] into the growing network of prison camps.<ref name="Rogue"/>

During the late 1950s, Kim was seen as an orthodox Communist leader, and an enthusiastic satellite of the Soviet Union. His speeches were liberally sprinkled with praises to Stalin. However, he sided with China during the [[Sino-Soviet split]], opposing the reforms brought by [[Nikita Khrushchev]], whom he believed was acting in opposition to Communism. He distanced himself from the Soviet Union, removing mention of his Red Army career from official history, and began reforming the country to his own radical Stalinist tastes. Kim was seen by many in North Korea, and in some parts elsewhere in the world, as an influential anti-revisionist leader in the communist movement. In 1956, anti-Kim elements encouraged by de-Stalinization in the Soviet Union emerged within the Party to criticize Kim and demand reforms.<ref name="crisis">Lankov, Andrei N., ''Crisis in North Korea: The Failure of De-Stalinization, 1956. Honolulu: Hawaii University Press (2004)</ref> After a period of vacillation, Kim instituted a purge, executing some who had been found guilty of treason and forcing the rest into exile.<ref name="crisis" />

[[File:Che_Guevara_and_Kim_Il-Sung,_1960.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Kim Il-Sung (center) with Argentinian guerilla fighter [[Ernesto Che Guevara]] (left) and a female translator, 1960]]

By the 1960s, Kim's relationship with the great Communist powers in the region became difficult. Despite his opposition to de-Stalinization, Kim never severed his relations with the Soviets, since he found the Chinese as unreliable allies due to the unstable state of affairs under Mao, leaving the DPRK somewhere in between the two sides. The [[Cultural Revolution]], however, prompted Kim to side with the Soviets, the decision reinforced by the neo-Stalinist policies of [[Leonid Brezhnev]]. This infuriated Mao and the anti-Soviet [[Red Guards (China)|Red Guards]]. As a result, the PRC immediately denounced Kim's leadership, produced anti-Kim propaganda, and subsequently began reconciliation with the United States{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}.

At the same time he reinstated relations with both [[Erich Honecker]]'s [[East Germany]] and [[Nicolae Ceauşescu]]'s [[Romania]]. Ceauşescu, in particular, was heavily influenced by Kim's ideology, and the personality cult that grew around him was very similar to that of Kim. However, Kim and [[Albania]]'s [[Enver Hoxha]] (another independent-minded Stalinist) would remain fierce enemies<ref>''[http://files.osa.ceu.hu/holdings/300/8/3/text/117-1-7.shtml CEU.hu], [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]] Research 17 December 1979 quoting Hoxha's ''Reflections on China Volume II'': "In [[Pyongyang]], I believe that even Tito will be astonished at the proportions of the cult of his host, which has reached a level unheard of anywhere else, either in past or present times, let alone in a country which calls itself socialist."</ref> and relations would remain cold and tense up until Hoxha's death in 1985. At the same time, Kim was establishing an extensive [[personality cult]], and North Koreans began to address him as "Great Leader" (widaehan suryŏng 위대한 수령). Kim developed the policy and ideology of [[Juche]] (self-reliance 주체 사상) rather than having North Korea become a Soviet satellite state.

In the mid-1960s, Kim became impressed with the efforts of [[Ho Chi Minh|Hồ Chí Minh]] to reunify Vietnam through guerilla warfare and thought something similar might be possible in Korea. Infiltration and subversion efforts were thus greatly stepped up against U.S. forces and the leadership that they supported. These efforts culminated in an [[Park Chung-hee#The Blue House Raid|attempt to storm]] the [[Blue House]] and assassinate President [[Park Chung-hee]]. North Korean troops thus took a much more aggressive stance toward U.S. forces in and around South Korea, engaging U.S. Army troops in fire-fights along the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone|Demilitarized Zone]]. The 1968 capture of the crew of the spy ship [[USS Pueblo (AGER-2)|USS Pueblo]] was a part of this campaign.

[[Image:OrderOfKimIl-SungType2.jpg|thumb|120px|The Order Of '''Kim Il-Sung''' was created in 1972 and is the DPRK's highest award.]]A new constitution was proclaimed in December 1972, under which Kim became President of North Korea. By this time, he had decided that his son [[Kim Jong-il]] would succeed him, and increasingly delegated the running of the government to him. The Kim family was supported by the army, due to Kim Il-sung’s revolutionary record and the support of the veteran defense minister, O Chin-u. At the Sixth Party Congress in October 1980, Kim publicly designated his son as his successor.

==Later years==
From about this time, however, North Korea encountered increasing economic difficulties. The practical effect of ''Juche'' was to cut the country off from virtually all foreign trade. The economic reforms of [[Deng Xiaoping]] in China from 1979 onward meant that trade with the moribund economy of North Korea held decreasing interest for China. The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, during 1989–1991, completed North Korea's virtual isolation. These events led to mounting economic difficulties.

North Korea repeatedly predicted that Korea would be re-united before Kim’s 70th birthday in 1982, and there were fears in the West that Kim would launch a new Korean War. But by this time, the disparity in economic and military power between the North and the South (where the U.S. military presence continues) made such a venture impossible.

As he aged, Kim developed a growth on the back of his neck which was a [[Calcinosis|calcium deposit]]. Its location near his brain and spinal cord made it inoperable. Because of its unappealing nature, North Korean photographers always shot and filmed him from the same slight-left angle, which became a difficult task as the growth reached the size of a [[baseball]].<ref>Cumings, Bruce, ''North Korea: Another Country'', [[The New Press]], New York, 2003, p. xii.</ref><ref>[http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/uncyclopedia/images/8/8c/Kimilsungtumor.jpg Image of Kim Il-sung's "neck tumor"]</ref>

In early 1994, Kim began investing in nuclear power to offset energy shortages brought on by economic problems. This was the first of many "nuclear crises". On 19 May 1994, Kim ordered spent fuel to be unloaded from the already disputed nuclear research facility in Yongbyon. Despite repeated chiding from Western nations, Kim continued to conduct nuclear research and carry on with the uranium enrichment programme. In June 1994, former President [[Jimmy Carter]] travelled to Pyongyang for talks with Kim. To the astonishment of the United States and the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]], Kim agreed to stop his nuclear research program and seemed to be embarking upon a new opening to the West.

==Death==
By the early 1990s, North Korea was nearly completely isolated from the outside world, except for limited trade and contacts with China, Russia, Vietnam, and Cuba. Its economy was virtually bankrupt, crippled by huge expenditures on armaments, with an agricultural sector unable to feed its population, but [[State media|state-run]] [[North Korean media]] continued to lionize Kim. On July 8, 1994 at age 82, Kim Il-sung collapsed from a sudden heart attack. After the heart attack, Kim Jong-il ordered the team of doctors who were constantly at his father's side to leave, and for the country's best doctors to be flown in from Pyongyang. After several hours, the doctors from Pyongyang arrived, and despite their best efforts to save him, Kim Il-sung died. Many claim Kim Jong-il purposely ordered Kim Il-sung's personal doctors away and delayed treatment for several hours to ensure his father's death and his rise to power 3 years later.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} After the traditional Confucian Mourning period, his death was declared thirty hours later.<ref>[[Barbara Demick|Demick, Barbara]]: ''Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea''</ref> His death caused a nationwide mourning crisis, and a ten-day mourning period was declared by [[Kim Jong-il]]. His funeral in Pyongyang was attended by hundreds of thousands of people from all over North Korea, many of whom were mourning dramatically (there were reports that many people committed suicide or were killed in the resulting mass mourning crushes), weeping and crying Kim Il-sung's name during the funeral procession. Kim Il-sung's body was placed in a public [[mausoleum]] at the [[Kumsusan Memorial Palace]], where his preserved and embalmed body lies under a glass coffin for viewing purposes. His head rests on a Korean-style pillow and he is covered by the flag of the Workers Party of Korea. Video of the funeral at Pyongyang was broadcast on several networks, and can now be found on various websites.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zYsUqAYg6c''Scenes of lamentation after Kim Il-sung’s death'']</ref>

==Family life==
Kim Il-sung married twice. His first wife, [[Kim Jong-suk]], bore him two sons and a daughter. [[Kim Jong-il]] is his oldest son. The other son (Kim Man-il, or Shura Kim) of this marriage died in 1947 in a swimming accident and his wife Kim Jong-suk died at the age of 31 while giving birth to a stillborn baby girl. Kim married [[Kim Sŏng-ae]] in 1952, and it is believed he had three children with her: [[Kim Yŏng-il]], [[Kim Kyŏng-il]], and [[Kim Pyong-il]]. Kim Pyong-il was prominent in Korean politics until he became ambassador to [[Hungary]].

Kim was reported to have other illegitimate children, as he was well known for having numerous affairs and secret relationships. They included [[Kim Hyŏn-nam]] (born 1972, head of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Workers' Party since 2002)<ref>Henry, Terrence (May 2005). [http://www.itcc.org/article.asp?artid=182 After Kim Jong Il], ''The Atlantic Monthly''.</ref> and [[Kim Chang-hyŏn|Chang-hyŏn]] (born 1971, adopted by Kim Jong-il's sister Kim Kyŏng-hŭi).<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/leadership-succession1.htm Leadership Succession Recent Developments]. [[GlobalSecurity.org]].</ref>

==Kim's name and image==
[[File:North Korean won.jpg|thumb|300px|Kim Il-sung as pictured on the 100-[[North Korean won|won]] banknote.]]

There are over 500 statues of Kim Il-sung in North Korea.<ref name=portal>{{cite book|last=Portal|first=Jane|coauthors=British Museum|title=Art under control in North Korea|publisher=Reaktion Books|date=2005|page=82|isbn=978-1861892362}}</ref> The most prominent are at [[Kim Il-sung University]], [[Kim Il-sung Stadium]], [[Kim Il-sung Square]], [[Kim Il-sung Bridge]] and the [[Immortal Statue of Kim Il-sung]]. Some statues have been destroyed by explosions or damaged with [[graffiti]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Becker|first=Jasper|title=Rogue Regime: Kim Jong Il and the Looming Threat of North Korea|publisher=Oxford University Press US|date=2007|pages=201|isbn=978-0195308914}}</ref> ''Yeong Saeng'' ("eternal life") monuments have been erected throughout the country, each dedicated to the departed "Eternal Leader", at which citizens are expected to pay annual tribute on his official birthday or the anniversary of his death.<ref name="Controversy Stirs over Kim Monument at PUST (NK Daily)>[http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=6222 "Controversy Stirs Over Kim Monument at PUST" NK Daily.] Retrieved 4-24-2010.</ref>

Kim Il-sung's image is prominent in places associated with public transportation, hanging at every North Korean train station and airport.<ref name=portal/> It is also placed prominently at the border crossings between China and North Korea. His portrait is featured on the front of all recent [[North Korean won]] banknotes. Thousands of gifts to Kim Il-sung from foreign leaders are housed in the [[International Friendship Exhibition]].

==Works==
Kim Il-sung was the author of many works and they are published in books. His works are published by the Workers' Party of Korea Publishing House and among them are "''Complete Collection of Kim Il Sung's Works''" and "''Collection of Kim Il Sung's Selected Works''". These include new year speeches, and other speeches delivered on different occasions. Shortly before his death, he also published an autobiography entitled "''With the Century''" in 12 volumes.

According to official North Korean sources, Kim Il-sung was also the original writer of ''[[The Flower Girl]]'', a revolutionary theatrical opera, which was made into a film adaptation in 1972.<ref name=chosun>[http://nk.chosun.com/culture/culture.html?ACT=opera03 가극 작품] - NK Chosun</ref><ref name=yulesohu>2008年03月26日, [http://yule.sohu.com/20080326/n255919204.shtml 金日成原创《卖花姑娘》5月上海唱响《卖花歌》] - 搜狐娱乐</ref><ref>[http://www.korea-dpr.com/lib/202.pdf "With the Century" - Complete biography of the Great Leader Kim Il Sung] - Korea-DPR.com</ref>

==Ancestry==
{{Kim Jong-il family}}


==See also==
==See also==
* {{lookfrom|orange}}
*[[Cold War]]
*[[Song of General Kim Il-sung]]
*[[Stalinism]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* Blair, Clay, ''The Forgotten War: America in Korea'', Naval Institute Press (2003)
* Goncharov, Sergei N., Lewis, John W. and Xue Litai, ''Uncertain Partners: Stalin, Mao, and the Korean War'' (1993)
* {{cite book|author=Kim Il-sung|year=2003|title=With the Century|url=http://www.korea-dpr.com/library/202.pdf|publisher=[[Korean Friendship Association]]}}
* Lankov, Andrei N., ''Crisis in North Korea: The Failure of De-Stalinization, 1956. Honolulu:Hawaii University Press (2004)
* Mansourov, Aleksandr Y., ''Stalin, Mao, Kim, and China's Decision to Enter the Korean War, September 16-October 15, 1950: New Evidence from the Russian Archives,'' Cold War International History Project Bulletin, Issues 6-7 (Winter 1995/1996)
* {{cite book|last=Martin|first=Bradley|date=2004|title=Under The Loving Care Of The Fatherly Leader: North Korea And The Kim Dynasty|publisher=St. Martins|id=ISBN }}
* Sudoplatov, Pavel Anatoli, Schecter, Jerrold L., and Schecter, Leona P., ''Special Tasks: The Memoirs of an Unwanted Witness&nbsp;— A Soviet Spymaster'', Little Brown, Boston (1994)
* Suh, Dae-Sook, ''Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader. New York: Columbia University Press (1988)
* Weathersby, Kathryn, ''The Soviet Role in the Early Phase of the Korean War,'' The Journal of American-East Asian Relations 2, no. 4 (Winter 1993)
*[[Christian Kracht]], [[Eva Munz]], [[Lukas Nikol]], "The Ministry Of Truth. Kim Jong Ils North Korea", [[Feral House]], October 2007, 132 pages, 88 color photographs, ISBN 978-932595-27-7
*[http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=230972&fuseaction=topics.publications&doc_id=474527&group_id=474507 NKIDP: Crisis and Confrontation on the Korean Peninsula: 1968-1969, A Critical Oral History]

==External links==
{{Commons category|Kim Il Sung}}
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8241723 Kim's resting place]
*[http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=165472#Post165472 North Korea Uncovered], (North Korea Google Earth)
*[http://koreanunification.net Korean Unification Studies]
*[http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=topics.home&topic_id=230972 North Korean International Documentation Project (NKIDP)]


*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0456012/ A State of Mind, a documentary movie by Daniel Gordon], chronicles everyday life in North Korea in 2003
*[http://nothingtoenvy.com/ Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea], a book by [[Barbara Demick]]
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=None}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Premier of North Korea|Premier of the DPRK]]|years=1949–1972}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kim Il (politician)|Kim Il]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=None}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of heads of state of North Korea|President of the DPRK]]<br><small>([[Eternal President of the Republic]] since September 5, 1998)</small>|years=1972–1994}}
{{s-aft|after=None<br><small>[[Yang Hyong-sop]] ''de facto'' as [[head of State]]</small>}}
|-
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=None}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea]]<br><small>Chairman from 1949–1966</small>|years=1949–1994}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kim Jong-il]]<br><small>Vacant until 1997</small>}}
|-
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=None}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army]]|years=1948–1991}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kim Jong-il]]}}
|-
{{s-end}}


{{NKPres}}
{{disambig}}
{{NKPMs}}
{{Cold War}}
{{Cold War figures}}
{{Fall of Communism}}
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->


[[Category:Place name disambiguation pages]]
{{Persondata
|NAME=Kim, Il-sung
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Kim Ilsong, Gim Il-seong, 김일성, 金日成
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=President of [[North Korea]]
|DATE OF BIRTH={{Birth date|1912|4|15|df=y}}
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Pyongyang]], North Korea
|DATE OF DEATH={{death date|1994|7|8|df=y}}
|PLACE OF DEATH=Pyongyang, North Korea
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Il-sung}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:Anti-Revisionists]]
[[Category:Cold War leaders]]
[[Category:Communist rulers]]
[[Category:Heads of state of North Korea]]
[[Category:Korean independence activists]]
[[Category:North Korean people of the Korean War]]
[[Category:Organists]]
[[Category:People from Pyongyang]]
[[Category:Premiers of North Korea]]
[[Category:Rebels]]
[[Category:Soviet military personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:World War II resistance members]]
[[Category:Leaders of political parties in North Korea|Kim Il-sung]]
[[Category:Deified people]]
[[Category:Korean revolutionaries]]
[[Category:Workers' Party of Korea politicians]]


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[[zh:金日成]]

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