View source for Kim Jong-il

{{Distinguish|Kim Yong-il|Kim Jong-pil|Kim Jong-il (athlete)}}
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{{Korean name|Kim}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Kim Jong-il
|native_name  = {{nobold|김정일}}
|native_name_lang = ko
|image        = Kim_Jong_il_Portrait.jpg
|image_size   = 
|caption      = Official portrait.
|office1      = [[First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea|General Secretary]] of the<br>[[Workers' Party of Korea]]
|term_start1  = 8 October 1997
|term_end1    = 17 December 2011<br><small>Acting leader 8 July 1994 - 8 October 1997</small><br><small>[[First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea|Eternal General Secretary]] since 11 April 2012</small><br><small>Eternal leader since 7 May 2016</small>
|1blankname1  = Hierarchy
|1namedata1   = {{List collapsed|title=''members of [[Politburo Standing Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|Politburo Standing Committee]]''|1={{plain list|
*1. Himself
*2. [[Kim Yong-nam]]
*3. [[Choe Yong-rim]]
*4. [[Jo Myong-rok]]
*5. [[Ri Yong-ho]]
}}}}
|predecessor1 = [[Kim Il-sung]] <br> <small>(1994)</small>
|successor1   = [[Kim Jong-un]] <br> <small>(as First Secretary, 2012)</small>
|office2= Chairman of the [[Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea|Central Military Commission]] of the [[Workers' Party of Korea]]
|deputy2      = [[Kim Jong-un]]<br>[[Ri Yong-ho]]
|term_start2  = 8 October 1997
|term_end2    = 17 December 2011
|predecessor2 = [[Kim Il-sung]]
|successor2   = [[Kim Jong-un]]
|office3= Chairman of the<br>[[National Defence Commission]]
|term_start3  = 9 April 1993
|term_end3    = 17 December 2011<br><small>Eternal Chairman since 13 April 2012</small>
|predecessor3 = [[Kim Il-sung]]
|successor3   = [[Kim Jong-un]]
|office7      = Deputy to the<br> 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th [[Supreme People's Assembly]]
|constituency7 = [[Songrim]] (1982–1986), [[Ryongsong]] (1986–1990), 575th (1990–1998), 666th (1998–2003), 649th (2003–2009), 333rd (2009–2011)
|term_start7  = 5 April 1982
|term_end7    = 17 December 2011
|office8      = Head of the [[Organization and Guidance Department of the Workers' Party of Korea|Organization and Guidance Department]] of the [[Workers' Party of Korea]]
|leader8      = [[Kim Il-sung]]
|term_start8  = February 1974
|term_end8    = 17 December 2011
|predecessor8 = [[Kim Yong-ju]]
|successor8   = Unknown
|office9      = [[Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army|Supreme Commander]] of the<br>[[Korean People's Army]]
|term_start9  = 24 December 1991
|term_end9    = 17 December 2011
|predecessor9 = [[Kim Il-sung]]
|successor9   = [[Kim Jong-un]]
|birth_name   = Yuri Irsenovich Kim
|birth_date   = {{birth date|1941|2|16|df=y}}<br>[[Vyatskoye, Khabarovsk Krai|Vyatskoye]], [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]], [[Soviet Union]] <small>(Soviet records)</small><br>{{birth date|1942|2|16|df=y}}<br>[[Baekdu Mountain]], [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese Korea]] <small>(North Korean biography)</small>{{Ref label|aaa|a|}}
|death_date   = {{death date and age|2011|12|17|1941|2|16|df=y}}
|death_place  = [[Pyongyang]], [[North Korea|Democratic People's Republic of Korea]]
|resting_place= [[Kumsusan Palace of the Sun]], [[Pyongyang]], [[North Korea|Democratic People's Republic of Korea]]
|party        = [[Workers' Party of Korea]]
|spouse       = [[Hong Il-chon]] (1966–1969)<br>[[Kim Young-sook]] (1974–2011)
|partner      = [[Song Hye-rim]] (1968–2002)<br>[[Ko Yong-hui]] (1977–2004)<br>[[Kim Ok]] (2004–2011)
|children     = [[Kim Jong-nam]] (1971–2017)<br>[[Kim Sul-song]] (born 30 December 1974)<br>[[Kim Jong-chul]] (born 25 September 1981)<br>[[Kim Jong-un]] (born 8 January 1984)<br>[[Kim Yo-jong]] (born 26 September 1987)<ref name=KJD8812/>
|alma_mater   = [[Mangyongdae Revolutionary School]]<br>[[Kim Il-sung University]]
|allegiance   = {{flag|North Korea}}
|branch       = [[Korean People's Army]]
|serviceyears = 1991–2011
|rank         = [[File:Generalissimo rank insignia (North Korea).svg|30px]] [[Taewonsu]] (대원수, roughly translated as [[Grand Marshal]] or [[Generalissimo]])
|commands     = [[Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army|Supreme Commander]]
|signature    = Kim Jong-il Signature.svg
|footnotes    = {{note|aaa}} North Korean biographies, which claim his birth date as 16 February 1942, are generally not considered to be factually reliable. See [[#Death|below]].
}}

{{Contains Korean text}}
{{Infobox Korean name
|context = north
|hangul  = {{linktext|김|정|일}}
|hanja   = {{lang|ko|{{linktext|金|正|日}}}}
|rr      = Gim Jeong(-)il
|mr      = Kim Chŏng'il
}}
'''Kim Jong-il''' ({{Lang-ko|김정일}}, {{IPA-ko|kim.dzʌŋ.il}} or {{IPA-ko|kim|}} {{IPA-ko|tsʌŋ.il|}}; 16 February 1941/1942 – 17 December 2011) was the [[List of leaders of North Korea|supreme leader]] of the [[North Korea|Democratic People's Republic of Korea]] (DPRK), commonly referred to as North Korea, from 1994 to 2011. By the early 1980s Kim had become the [[heir apparent]] for the leadership of the country and assumed important posts in the party and army organs. He succeeded his father and founder of the DPRK, [[Kim Il-sung]], following the [[Death and state funeral of Kim Il-sung|elder Kim's death]] in 1994. Kim Jong-il was the [[General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea|General Secretary]] of the [[Workers' Party of Korea]] (WPK), [[Politburo Standing Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|Politburo Standing Committee member]] of WPK, [[Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea|Chairman]] of the [[National Defence Commission]] (NDC) of North Korea, and the [[Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army|Supreme Commander]] of the [[Korean People's Army]] (KPA), the [[List of countries by number of troops|fourth-largest standing army]] in the world. Kim's leadership is thought to have been even more authoritarian than his father's.

During Kim's regime, the country suffered from famine, partially due to economic mismanagement, and had a poor human rights record. Kim involved his country in [[state terrorism]] and strengthened the role of the military by his ''[[Songun]]'', or "military-first", politics. Kim's rule also saw tentative economic reforms, including the opening of the [[Kaesong Industrial Park]] in 2003.

In April 2009, [[North Korea's constitution]] was amended to officially refer to him (and his later successors) as the "supreme leader of the DPRK".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8279830.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=N Korea constitution bolsters Kim|date=29 September 2009|accessdate=7 May 2010|first=Jill|last=McGivering}}</ref> The most common colloquial [[List of Kim Jong-il's titles|title given to him]] during his reign was "The 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 [[Death and state funeral of Kim Jong-il|had died]] two days earlier,<ref name="bbcdeath"/> whereupon his third son, [[Kim Jong-un]], was promoted to a senior position in the ruling WPK and succeeded him.<ref>{{cite news|title=NKorea prints photos of heir apparent Kim Jong Un|url=http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_NKOREA_SUCCESSION?SITE=CAVEN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626185850/http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_NKOREA_SUCCESSION?SITE=CAVEN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT|archivedate=26 June 2010|accessdate=30 September 2010|newspaper=[[AP News]]|date=30 September 2010}}</ref> After his death, he was designated as the "Eternal General Secretary" of the WPK and the "Eternal Chairman of the National Defence Commission", in keeping with the tradition of establishing eternal posts for the dead members of the [[Kim dynasty (North Korea)|Kim dynasty]].

== Early life ==

=== Birth ===
Soviet records show that Kim was born '''Yuri Irsenovich Kim''' ({{lang-ru|Юрий Ирсенович Ким}}; ''Jurij Irsenovič Kim'')<ref name="birthname">{{Cite news|url=http://nk.chosun.com/english/news/news.html?ACT=detail&res_id=7283|date=22 August 2002|accessdate=19 February 2007|periodical=The Chosun Ilbo|title=Sergeyevna Remembers Kim Jong Il|last=Chung|first=Byoung-sun}}<br>{{Cite news|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1671983|publisher=NPR|date=12 February 2004|accessdate=19 February 2007|title=A Visit to Kim Jong Il's Russian Birthplace|last=Sheets|first=Lawrence}}<br>http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0607/05/i_ins.01.html<br>{{cite web|url=http://www.life.com/gallery/26532/image/51407067/north-korea-secrets-and-lies#index/7|title=Kim Jong-Il, Kim Il-Sung – In the Family Business – North Korea: Secrets and Lies – Photo Gallery|work=Life|accessdate=19 December 2011}}</ref> in the village of [[Vyatskoye, Khabarovsk Krai|Vyatskoye]], near [[Khabarovsk]], in 1941,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1907197.stm|title=Profile: Kim Jong-il|publisher=BBC News|date=16 January 2009|accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref> where his father, [[Kim Il-sung]], commanded the 1st [[Battalion]] of the Soviet 88th Brigade,{{sfn|Lankov|2014|p=4}} made up of Chinese and Korean [[exile]]s. Kim Jong-il's mother, [[Kim Jong-suk]], was Kim Il-sung's first wife. Inside his family, he was nicknamed ''Yura'', while his younger brother [[Kim Man-il]] (born Alexander Irsenovich Kim) was nicknamed ''Shura''.

However, Kim Jong-il's official biography states he was born in a secret military camp on [[Paektu Mountain]] ({{Korean|백두산밀영고향집|context=north}}; ''Baekdusan Miryeong Gohyang jip'') in [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese-occupied Korea]] on 16 February 1942.{{sfn|Kim Jong-il Brief History|1998|p=1}} According to one comrade of Kim's mother, Lee Min, word of Kim's birth first reached an army camp in Vyatskoye via radio and that both Kim and his mother did not return there until the following year.{{sfn|Breen|2012|p=45}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Interview with Lee Min|newspaper=[[Hankyoreh Shinmun]]|date=October 1999}}</ref>

In 1945, Kim was four years old when World War II ended and Korea regained [[Korea under Japanese rule|independence from Japan]]. His father returned to [[Pyongyang]] that September, and in late November Kim returned to Korea via a Soviet ship, landing at [[Sonbong]]. The family moved into a former Japanese officer's mansion in Pyongyang, with a garden and pool. Kim Jong-il's brother drowned there in 1948.<ref name=post>{{cite book|title=Leaders and their followers in a dangerous world: the psychology of political behavior|last=Post|first=Jerrold M.|author2=Alexander George|pages=243–244|year=2004|publisher=[[Cornell University Press]]|isbn=978-0-8014-4169-1}}</ref>

Reports indicate that his mother died in childbirth in 1949.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/GF04Dg03.html|title=The Kims' North Korea|work=Asia Times|date=4 June 2005|accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref>

=== Education ===
According to his official biography, Kim completed the course of general education between September 1950 and August 1960. He attended Primary School No. 4 and Middle School No. 1 (Namsan Higher Middle School) in Pyongyang.{{sfn|Kim Jong-il Brief History|1998|pp=5-6}} This is contested by foreign academics, who believe he is more likely to have received his early education in the People's Republic of China as a precaution to ensure his safety during the [[Korean War]].<ref>Martin, Bradley K. (2004). ''Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader'', New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-32221-6.</ref>

Throughout his schooling, Kim was involved in politics. He was active in the Korean Children's Union and the Democratic Youth League of North Korea (DYL), taking part in study groups of Marxist political theory and other literature. In September 1957 he became vice-chairman of his middle school's DYL branch (the chairman had to be a teacher). He pursued a programme of anti-factionalism and attempted to encourage greater ideological education among his classmates.{{sfn|Kim Jong-il Brief History|1998|pp=7-9}}

Kim is also said to have received English language education at the [[University of Malta]] in the early 1970s,<ref>{{cite news|title=1982 Labour government "secret" agreement with North Korea – 'Times change' – Alex Sceberras Trigona|date=7 February 2010|accessdate=15 September 2010|first=Stephen|last=Calleja|work=[[The Malta Independent]]|url=http://www.independent.com.mt/news2.asp?artid=101298}}</ref> on his infrequent holidays there as a guest of Prime Minister [[Dom Mintoff]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Peter|last=Preston|url=https://www.theguardian.com/comment/story/0,3604,866479,00.html|title=Kim is a baby rattling the sides of a cot|work=The Guardian|date=30 December 2002|accessdate=28 December 2011|location=London}}</ref>

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 to [[Poland]]. Foreign commentators suspect that Kim Pyong-il was sent to these distant posts by his father in order to avoid a power struggle between his two sons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/FB14Dg04.html|title=Happy Birthday, Dear Leader – who's next in line?|work=Asia Times|date=14 February 2004|accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref>

== The 6th Party Congress and heir apparent (1980–1994) ==
By the time of the [[6th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea|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 Standing Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|Politburo Standing Committee]], the [[Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea|Military Commission]] and the party [[Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea|Secretariat]]. According to his official biography, the WPK Central Committee had already anointed him successor to Kim Il-sung in February 1974. When he was made a member of the [[North Korean parliamentary election, 1982|Seventh Supreme People's Assembly]] in February 1982, international observers deemed him the [[heir apparent]] of North Korea. Prior to 1980, he had no public profile and was referred to only as the "Party Centre".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Making of Modern Korea|last=Buzo|first=Adrian|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=0-415-23749-1|p=127}}</ref>

At this time Kim assumed the title "Dear Leader" ({{korean|hangul=친애하는 지도자|mr=ch'inaehanŭn jidoja|context=north}})<ref name="dear">''[http://www.theage.com.au/news/North-Korea/North-Koreas-dear-leader-less-dear/2004/11/18/1100748136912.html "North Korea's dear leader less dear"]'', Fairfax Digital, 19 November 2004.</ref> 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 Korean People's Army]]. Since the Army is the real foundation of power in North Korea, this was a vital step. Defence 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 (politician)|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 demanded absolute obedience and agreement from his ministers and party officials with no advice or compromise, and he viewed any slight deviation from his thinking as a sign of disloyalty. According to Hwang, Kim Jong-il personally directed even minor details of state affairs, such as the size of houses for party secretaries and the delivery of gifts to his subordinates.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/world/rok/nis-docs/hwang2.htm|title=Testimony of Hwang Jang-yop}}</ref>
[[File:Kim Jong-il in North Korean propaganda (6075328850).jpg|thumb|Idealized portrait of Kim Jong-il]]

By the 1980s, North Korea began to experience severe economic stagnation. Kim Il-sung's policy of ''[[Juche]]'' (self-reliance) cut the country off from almost all external trade, even with its traditional partners, the Soviet Union and China.

South Korea accused Kim of ordering the [[Rangoon bombing|1983 bombing in Rangoon]], Burma which killed 17 visiting South Korean officials, including four cabinet members, and another in 1987 which killed all 115 on board [[Korean Air Flight 858]].<ref name="yangon">[http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/asia/northkorea/keyplayers/kimjongil.html "North Korea: Nuclear Standoff"], ''The Online NewsHour'', [[PBS]], 19 October 2006.</ref> 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.<ref name="hyonhui">[http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/FL16Dh02.html Fake ashes, very real North Korean sanctions], ''Asia Times Online'', 16 December 2004.</ref>

In 1992, Kim Jong-il made his first public speech during a military parade for the KPA's 60th anniversary and said:<ref name="Lim2008">{{cite book|author=Jae-Cheon Lim|title=Kim Jong-il's Leadership of North Korea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ag16AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA155|accessdate=21 July 2015|date=24 November 2008|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-01712-6|page=155}}</ref> "Glory to the officers and soldiers of the heroic Korean People's Army!"<ref name="Jeffries2012">{{cite book|author=Ian Jeffries|title=North Korea, 2009-2012: A Guide to Economic and Political Developments|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DVv-IYB2E-QC&pg=PA674|accessdate=21 July 2015|date=7 December 2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-11698-9|page=674}}</ref> These words were followed by a loud applause by the crowd at Pyongyang's [[Kim Il-sung Square]] where the parade was held.

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

== Ruler of North Korea ==
[[File:The statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang (april 2012).jpg|thumb|270px|North Koreans bowing to the statues of Kim Jong-il and his father, [[Kim Il-sung]], at the [[Mansu Hill Grand Monument]]]]
On 8 July 1994, [[Death and state funeral of Kim Il-sung|Kim il-sung died]] at the age of 82 from a heart attack. Although Kim Jong-il had been his father's designated successor as early as 1974 and was the undisputed heir apparent since 1991, it took him more than three years to consolidate his power.

He officially took over his father's old post as [[First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea|General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea]] on 8 October 1997. In 1998, he was reelected as chairman of the National Defence Commission, and a constitutional amendment declared that post to be "the highest post of the state"; most sources outside North Korea reckoned Kim 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 and designated Kim Il-sung as the country's "[[Eternal President of the Republic|Eternal President]]" in order to honor his memory forever. It can be argued, though, that Kim Jong-il became the country's undisputed 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 relation). Each nominally held powers equivalent to a third of a president's powers in most other presidential systems. Kim Jong-il commanded the armed forces, Choe Yong-rim headed the government and handled domestic affairs and Kim Yong-nam handled foreign relations. In practice, however, Kim Jong-il exercised absolute control over the government and the country. Although not required to stand for popular election to his key offices, he was unanimously elected to the Supreme People's Assembly every five years, representing a military constituency, due to his concurrent capacities as supreme commander of the KPA and chairman of the NDC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com/kji-2/kim-jong-il-personal-secretariat/|title=Kim-Jong Il-Supreme People's Assembly|publisher=Nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com|accessdate=19 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref name=noland>{{cite journal|last=Noland|first=Marcus|title=Famine and Reform in North Korea|journal=Asian Economic Papers|year=2004|volume=3|issue=2|pages=1–40|doi=10.1162/1535351044193411}}</ref><ref name="haggard209">{{cite book|last1=Haggard|last2=Nolan|last3=Sen|title=Famine in North Korea: Markets, Aid, and Reform|year=2009|isbn=978-0-231-14001-0|page=209|quote=This tragedy was the result of a misguided strategy of self-reliance that only served to increase the country's vulnerability to both economic and natural shocks ... The state's culpability in this vast misery elevates the North Korean famine to a crime against humanity}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/147613|accessdate=24 September 2011|title=North Korea: A terrible truth|work=The Economist|date=17 April 1997}}</ref> This, compounded with the fact that only 18% of North Korea is arable land<ref>[http://www.country-studies.com/north-korea/agriculture.html "North Korea Agriculture"], Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. Retrieved 11 March 2007.</ref> and the country's inability to import the goods necessary to sustain industry,<ref>[https://fas.org/nuke/guide/dprk/target/industry.htm "Other Industry – North Korean Targets"] Federation of American Scientists, 15 June 2000.</ref> led to a [[Famine in North Korea|severe famine]] and left North Korea economically devastated. Faced with a country in decay, Kim adopted a [[Songun|"Military-First" policy]] to strengthen the country and reinforce the regime.<ref>Homer T. Hodge.{{cite web|url=http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/parameters/03spring/hodge.htm |title=North Korea's Military Strategy |accessdate=2012-07-05 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609120533/http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/parameters/03spring/hodge.htm |archivedate=9 June 2007 |df=dmy }} , ''Parameters'', U.S. Army War College Quarterly, 2003.</ref> On the national scale, a North Korean spokesman has claimed that this has resulted in a positive growth rate for the country since 1996, with the implementation of "landmark socialist-type market economic practices" in 2002 keeping the North afloat despite a continued dependency on foreign aid for food.<ref>[http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/IA04Dg02.html "Kim Jong-il's military-first policy a silver bullet"], ''Asia Times Online'', 4 January 2007.</ref>

In the wake of the devastation of the 1990s, the government began formally approving some activity of small-scale bartering and trade. As observed by Daniel Sneider, associate director for research at the Stanford University [[Asia-Pacific Research Center]], this flirtation with capitalism was "fairly limited, but{{spnd}}especially compared to the past{{spnd}}there are now remarkable markets that create the semblance of a [[free market]] system."<ref>[http://www.cfr.org/publication/10858/ "North Korea's Capitalist Experiment"], Council on Foreign Relations, 8 June 2006.</ref>

In 2002, Kim Jong-il declared that "money should be capable of measuring the worth of all commodities."<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0602/p07s02-woap.html "On North Korea's streets, pink and tangerine buses"], ''The Christian Science Monitor'', 2 June 2005.</ref> These gestures toward economic reform mirror similar actions taken by China's [[Deng Xiaoping]] in the late 1980s and early 90s. During a rare visit in 2006, Kim expressed admiration for China's rapid economic progress.<ref>[http://www.usip.org/publications/inside-north-korea-joint-us-chinese-dialogue "Inside North Korea: A Joint U.S.-Chinese Dialogue"], United States Institute of Peace, January 2007.</ref>

=== Foreign relations ===
[[File:Vladimir Putin 4 August 2001-1.jpg|thumb|left|250px|right|Kim Jong-il talking with Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] during their 2001 meeting in Moscow.]]
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 [[Korean Demilitarized Zone|de-militarized zone]].<ref>[http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/biz/200404/kt2004042317263611880.htm "Asan, KOLAND Permitted to Develop Kaesong Complex"], ''The Korea Times'', 23 April 2004. {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> 

[[File:Kim ok.jpg|thumb|[[Kim Ok]], Kim Jong-il's personal secretary, with U.S. Secretary of Defense [[William Cohen]], 2000]]
In 1994, North Korea and the United States signed an [[Agreed Framework]] which was designed to freeze and eventually dismantle the North's [[North Korea and weapons of mass destruction|nuclear weapons program]] in exchange for aid in producing two power-generating [[nuclear reactor]]s.<ref>[http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aankorea.htm "History of the 'Agreed Framework' and how it was broken"], About: U.S. Gov Info/Resources, 12 March 2007.</ref> 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{{spnd}}citing the presence of United States-owned nuclear weapons in South Korea and the new tensions with the United States under President [[George W. Bush]].<ref>[http://www.glocom.org/media_reviews/w_review/20021028_weekly_review70/index.html "Motivation Behind North Korea's Nuclear Confession"], GLOCOM Platform, 28 October 2002.</ref> On 9 October 2006, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency announced that it had successfully conducted [[2006 North Korean nuclear test|an underground nuclear test]].<ref name="msnbc1">{{cite web | url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2006/200610/news10/10.htm#1 | title=DPRK Successfully Conducts Underground Nuclear Test|publisher=KCNA|date=October 10, 2006|accessdate=October 10, 2006| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061026061534/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2006/200610/news10/10.htm| archivedate= October 26, 2006 <!--DASHBot-->}}</ref>

=== Cult of personality ===
{{Main article|North Korea's cult of personality}}
[[File:DPRK election.jpg|thumb|A North Korean voting booth containing portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il under the national flag. Below the portraits is the ballot box.]]

Kim Jong-il was the focus of an elaborate [[personality cult]] inherited from his father and founder of the DPRK, Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-il was often the centre of attention throughout ordinary life in the DPRK. On his 60th birthday (based on his official date of birth), mass celebrations occurred throughout the country on the occasion of his [[Hwangab]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1823713.stm|title=North Korea marks leader's birthday|publisher=BBC|date=16 February 2002|accessdate=18 December 2007}}</ref> In 2010, the North Korean media reported that Kim's distinctive clothing had set worldwide fashion trends.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/nkorea-leader-sets-world-fashion-trend-pyongyang-claims-5533361.html|title=N.Korea leader sets world fashion trend, Pyongyang claims|work=The Independent|date=8 April 2010|accessdate=14 July 2014}}</ref>

The prevailing point of view is that the people's adherence to 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nautilus.org/DPRKbriefingbook/negotiating/issue.html|title="Korean Monarch Kim Jong Il: Technocrat Ruler of the Hermit Kingdom Facing the Challenge of Modernity", The Nautilus Institute|accessdate=18 December 2007|last=Mansourov|first=Alexandre|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070816180527/http://nautilus.org/DPRKbriefingbook/negotiating/issue.html|archivedate=16 August 2007}}</ref> Media and government sources from outside North Korea generally support this view,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6368203.stm|title=Nuclear deal fuels Kim's celebrations|publisher=BBC|date=16 February 2007|accessdate=18 December 2007|last=Scanlon|first=Charles}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1916374.ece|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026142417/http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1916374.ece|archivedate=26 October 2007|title=Kim Jong Il, the tyrant with a passion for wine, women and the bomb|work=The Independent|date=21 October 2006|accessdate=18 December 2007|last=Coonan|first=Clifford|location=London}}</ref><ref>Richard Lloyd Parry. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25689-2396147,00.html "'Dear Leader' clings to power while his people pay the price"], The Times. 10 October 2006. Retrieved 18 December 2007.</ref><ref name="NZ_Herald_10405224">{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=340&ObjectID=10405224|title=North Korea's 'Dear Leader' flaunts nuclear prowess|date=10 October 2006|agency=[[Reuters]]|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|accessdate=13 October 2011}}</ref><ref>Compiled by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27775.htm "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices"] United States Department of State. 25 February 2004. Retrieved 18 December 2007.</ref> while North Korean government sources aver that it was genuine hero worship.<ref>Jason LaBouyer{{cite web|url=http://www.korea-dpr.com/lodestar0605v.pdf |title=When friends become enemies&nbsp;— Understanding left-wing hostility to the DPRK |accessdate=2009-03-19 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319072854/http://www.korea-dpr.com/lodestar0605v.pdf |archivedate=19 March 2009 |df=dmy }}  Lodestar. May/June 2005: pp. 7–9. Korea-DPR.com. Retrieved 18 December 2007.</ref> The song "[[No Motherland Without You]]", sung by the KPA State Merited Choir, was created especially for Kim in 1992 and is frequently broadcast on the radio and from loudspeakers on the streets of Pyongyang.<ref>{{cite book|author=Marshall Cavendish Corporation|title=World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia|year=2007|page=929|url=https://books.google.com/?id=YG2AFyFppJQC&pg=PA929|isbn=978-0-7614-7631-3|publisher=Marshall Cavendish}}</ref>

=== Human rights record ===
{{see also|Human rights in North Korea}}
According to a 2004 [[Human Rights Watch]] report, the North Korean government under Kim was "among the world's most repressive governments", having up to 200,000 political prisoners according to U.S. and South Korean officials, with no freedom of the press or religion, political opposition or equal education: "Virtually every aspect of political, social, and economic life is controlled by the government."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/07/08/nkorea9040.htm|title=Human Rights in North Korea|accessdate=2 August 2007|date=July 2004|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]}}</ref>

Kim's government was accused of "[[crimes against humanity]]" for its alleged culpability in creating and prolonging the [[North Korean famine|1990s famine]].<ref name="noland"/><ref name="haggard209"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/147613|accessdate=24 September 2011|title=North Korea: A terrible truth|work=[[The Economist]]|date=17 April 1997}}</ref>

== Health and rumors of waning power ==

=== 2008 reports ===
In an August 2008 issue of the Japanese newsweekly ''[[Shūkan Gendai]]'', [[Waseda University]] professor Toshimitsu Shigemura, an authority on the [[Korean Peninsula]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Sheridan|first=Michael|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4692472.ece|title=North Korea 'uses doubles to hide death of Kim'|work=The Times|date=7 September 2008|accessdate=5 December 2008|location=London}}</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.japantoday.com/category/kuchikomi/view/north-koreas-kim-died-in-2003-and-was-replaced-by-lookalike-says-waseda-profesor "N Korea's Kim died in 2003; replaced by lookalike, says Waseda professor"], ''Japan Today'', 24 August 2008.</ref> In a subsequent best-selling book, ''The True Character of Kim Jong-il'', Shigemura cited apparently unnamed people close to Kim's family along with Japanese and South Korean intelligence sources, claiming they confirmed Kim's diabetes took a turn for the worse early in 2000 and from then until his supposed death three and a half years later he was using a wheelchair. Shigemura moreover claimed a voiceprint analysis of Kim speaking in 2004 did not match a known earlier recording. It was also noted that Kim Jong-il did not appear in public for the [[2008 Summer Olympics torch relay|Olympic torch relay]] in Pyongyang on 28 April 2008. The question had reportedly "baffled foreign [[intelligence agencies]] for years."<ref>Sheridan, Michael, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4692472.ece "North Korea 'uses doubles to hide death of Kim'"], ''Sunday Times'', 7 September 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2008.</ref>

On 9 September 2008, various sources reported that after he did not show up that day for a military parade celebrating North Korea's 60th anniversary, United States intelligence agencies believed Kim might be "gravely ill" after having suffered a stroke. He had last been seen in public a month earlier.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.startribune.com/nation/28048604.html|title=North Korea's Kim Jong Il may be gravely ill, jeopardizing progress on halting nukes|author=Pamela Hess and Matthew Lee|work=Star Tribune|date=10 September 2008|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911223358/http://www.startribune.com/nation/28048604.html?|archivedate=11 September 2008|accessdate=19 December 2011}}</ref>

A former [[CIA]] official said earlier reports of a health crisis were likely accurate. North Korean media remained silent on the issue. An [[Associated Press]] report said analysts believed Kim had been supporting moderates in the foreign ministry, while North Korea's powerful military was against so-called "Six-Party" negotiations with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States aimed towards ridding North Korea of nuclear weapons. Some United States officials noted that soon after rumours about Kim's health were publicized a month before, North Korea had taken a "tougher line in nuclear negotiations." In late August North Korea's official news agency reported the government would "consider soon a step to restore the nuclear facilities in [[Nyongbyon]] to their original state as strongly requested by its relevant institutions." Analysts said this meant "the military may have taken the upper hand and that Kim might no longer be wielding absolute authority." By 10 September, there were conflicting reports. Unidentified South Korean government officials said Kim had undergone surgery after suffering a minor stroke and had apparently "intended to attend 9 September event in the afternoon but decided not to because of the aftermath of the surgery." 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."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j2zReXndGtxbEQ9gsY3SWxImKHHw|title=NKorean leader suffered stroke: Seoul intelligence|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=9 September 2008}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported on 9 September that Kim was "very ill and most likely suffered a stroke a few weeks ago, but United States intelligence authorities do not think his death is imminent."<ref>[http://english.kbs.co.kr/news/newsview_sub.php?menu=8&key=2008091021] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216142545/http://english.kbs.co.kr/news/newsview_sub.php?menu=8&key=2008091021 |date=16 December 2008 }}</ref> The [[BBC]] noted that the North Korean government denied these reports, stating that Kim's health problems were "not serious enough to threaten his life",<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/09/nkorea.kim|title=Mystery has surrounded Kim Jong Il|publisher=CNN|date=10 September 2008|accessdate=7 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7607513.stm|title=N Korea insists Kim is not unwell|publisher=BBC News|date=10 September 2008|accessdate=5 January 2010}}</ref> although they did confirm that he had suffered a stroke on 15 August.<ref name="time-stroke">{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1840419,00.html|title=N Korea: Kim Had Brain Surgery|author=Jae-Soon Chang|work=Time|agency=Associated Press|date=11 September 2008|accessdate=11 September 2008|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913235534/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1840419,00.html|archivedate=13 September 2008}}</ref>

[[File:Kim Jong-il 2011-5.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Kim Jong-il at a meeting during his visit with Dmitry Medvedev in 2011]]Japan's [[Kyodo News]] agency reported on 14 September, that "Kim collapsed on 14 August due to stroke or a [[cerebral hemorrhage]], and that Beijing dispatched five military doctors at the request of Pyongyang. Kim will require a long period of rest and rehabilitation before he fully recovers and has complete command of his limbs again, as with typical stroke victims." Japan's ''[[Mainichi Shimbun]]'' claimed Kim had occasionally lost consciousness since April.<ref>{{cite news|title=N. Korean Kim Having Trouble Using Limbs|url=http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=7245|newspaper=The Seoul Times|accessdate=19 December 2011}}</ref> Japan's ''[[Tokyo Shimbun]]'' on 15 September, added that Kim was staying at the Bongwha State Guest House. He was apparently conscious "but he needs some time to recuperate from the recent stroke, with some parts of his hands and feet paralyzed". It cited Chinese sources which claimed that one cause for the stroke could have been stress brought about by the United States delay to remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://asia.news.yahoo.com/080915/4/3p21c.html |title=Kim Jong Il Out of Public View as Major Holiday Passes |accessdate=2008-12-16 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216141736/http://asia.news.yahoo.com/080915/4/3p21c.html |archivedate=16 December 2008 |df=dmy }}. Yahoo! News. 15 September 2008.</ref>

On 19 October, North Korea reportedly ordered its diplomats to stay near their embassies to await "an important message", according to Japan's ''[[Yomiuri Shimbun]]'', setting off renewed speculation about the health of the ailing leader.<ref name="kore_NKDi">{{Cite web | title = NK Diplomats on Standby for Important Announcement | first = Michael | last = Ha | work = The Korea Times | date = 19 October 2008 | accessdate = 12 April 2017 | url = http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/10/116_32932.html }}</ref>

By 29 October 2008, reports stated Kim suffered a serious setback and had been taken back to hospital.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/world-news/asia-pacific/report-sparks-more-speculation-on-kim-jong-ils-health-26488213.html|title=Report sparks more speculation on Kim Jong Il's health|work=Irish Independent|date=29 October 2008|access-date=26 May 2016}}</ref> The New York Times reported that Japanese Prime Minister [[Taro Aso]], on 28 October 2008, stated in a [[parliamentary session]] that Kim had been hospitalized: "His condition is not so good. However, I don't think he is totally incapable of making decisions." Aso further said a French [[neurosurgeon]] was aboard a plane for Beijing, en route to North Korea. Further, Kim Sung-ho, director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed parliamentary session in [[Seoul]] that "Kim appeared to be recovering quickly enough to start performing his daily duties."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/world/asia/29kim.html|title=Kim Jong-Il Hospitalized but at Helm, Japan Says|work=The New York Times|first=Norimitsu|last=Onishi|date=29 October 2008|accessdate=7 May 2010}}</ref> ''[[The Dong-a Ilbo]]'' newspaper reported "a serious problem" with Kim's health. Japan's [[Fuji Television]] network reported that Kim's eldest son, [[Kim Jong-nam]], traveled to Paris to hire a neurosurgeon for his father, and showed footage where the surgeon boarded flight CA121 bound for Pyongyang from Beijing on 24 October. The French weekly ''[[Le Point]]'' identified him as Francois-Xavier Roux, [[neurosurgery]] director of Paris' Sainte-Anne Hospital, but Roux himself stated he was in Beijing for several days and not North Korea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/monde/asie/0,,4141229,00-le-chirurgien-francais-dement-tout-visite-a-kim-jong-ii-.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081101025832/http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/monde/asie/0,,4141229,00-le-chirurgien-francais-dement-tout-visite-a-kim-jong-ii-.html|archivedate=1 November 2008|title=LCI, Corée du Nord: Le chirurgien français dément toute visite à Kim Jong II}}</ref> On 19 December 2011 Roux confirmed that Kim suffered a debilitating stroke in 2008 and was treated by himself and other French doctors at [[Pyongyang]]'s Red Cross Hospital. Roux said Kim suffered few lasting effects.<ref>[http://www.philstar.com/article.aspx?articleid=760393&publicationsubcategoryid=200 French doctor confirms Kim had stroke in 2008] (Associated Press via PhilStar), 19 December 2011</ref>

On 5 November 2008, the North's Korean Central News Agency published 2 photos showing Kim posing with dozens of [[Korean People's Army]] (KPA) soldiers on a visit to military Unit 2200 and sub-unit of Unit 534. Shown with his usual [[bouffant]] hairstyle, with his trademark sunglasses and a white winter parka, Kim stood in front of trees with autumn foliage and a red-and-white banner.<ref>[http://afp.google.com/media/ALeqM5ikrDW2BrCj5Y3MTang70ZE_smGwQ?size=s JPG image]. Google News |agency=Agence France-Presse</ref><ref>{{cite news|agency=Agence France-Presse|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gBLJIU2BX0waPQyOREz9HYBInH8g|title=French brain surgeon admits visiting Pyongyang: report|publisher=Google|date=4 November 2008|accessdate=11 March 2010}}</ref><ref>JPG image, archived from{{cite web|url=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/04/nkorea.kim.ap/art.korea.ap.jpg |title=cdn.turner.com (CNN, 2008) |accessdate=2008-11-05 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081105154112/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/04/nkorea.kim.ap/art.korea.ap.jpg |archivedate=5 November 2008 |df=dmy }}  or{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/05/xin_472110505145550016711.jpg |title=news.xinhuanet.com |accessdate=2008-11-05 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218005538/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/05/xin_472110505145550016711.jpg |archivedate=18 December 2008 |df=dmy }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/05/content_10310320.htm|title=Kim Jong Il watches army training|agency=Xinhua News Agency|date=5 November 2008|accessdate=11 March 2010}}</ref> ''[[The Times]]'' questioned the authenticity of at least one of these photos.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5101905.ece|title=Kim Jong Il: digital trickery or an amazing recovery from a stroke?|work=The Times|location=London|date=7 November 2008|accessdate=7 May 2010|first=Fiona|last=Hamilton}}</ref>

In November 2008, Japan's [[Tokyo Broadcasting System|TBS TV network]] reported that Kim had suffered a second stroke in October, which "affected the movement of his left arm and leg and also his ability to speak."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1084685/North-Korean-leader-Kim-Jong-Il-suffers-second-stroke.html|title=North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il 'suffers second stroke'|location=London|work=Daily Mail|date=11 November 2008|first=Richard|last=Shears}}</ref><ref name="reuters.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4AA0GS20081111|title=Kim Jong-il had possible second stroke|agency=Reuters|date=11 November 2008}}</ref> However, South Korea's intelligence agency rejected this report.<ref name="reuters.com"/>

In response to the rumors regarding Kim's health and supposed loss of power, in April 2009, North Korea released a video showing Kim visiting factories and other places around the country between November and December 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7988096.stm|title=Video of Kim Jong-il|publisher=BBC News|date=7 April 2009|accessdate=19 December 2011}}</ref> In 2010, documents released by [[WikiLeaks]] purportedly attested that Kim suffered from [[epilepsy]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/8166248/WikiLeaks-US-referred-to-Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad-as-Hitler.html|title=WikiLeaks: US referred to Ahmadinejad as 'Hitler'|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=28 November 2010|accessdate=30 December 2010|location=London|first=Peter|last=Hutchison}}</ref>

According to ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', Kim was a [[Chain smoking|chain-smoker]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Kim Jong-il – the high life of an evil dictator|first=Janet|last=Fife-Yeomans|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/kim-jong-il-the-high-life-of-an-evil-dictator/story-e6freuy9-1226226187550|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=20 December 2011|accessdate=20 December 2011|quote=When North Korea's Dear Leader, the chain-smoking Kim Jong-il, 69, died on Saturday}}</ref>

[[File:Grand People's Study House 08.JPG|thumb|Portraits of Kim Jong-il and [[Kim Il-sung|his father]] in the [[Grand People's Study House]] in [[Pyongyang]].]]

=== Successor ===
Kim's three sons and his brother-in-law, along with [[O Kuk-ryol]], an army general, had been noted as possible successors, but the North Korean government had for a time been wholly silent on this matter.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSSEO30011320080910|title=Possible successors to North Korea's Kim|agency=Reuters|date=10 September 2008}}</ref>

Kim Yong Hyun, a political expert at the Institute for North Korean Studies at [[Seoul]]'s [[Dongguk University]], said in 2007, "Even the North Korean establishment would not advocate a continuation of the family [[dynasty]] at this point."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiaenews.com/asia/20070214/39480.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209173116/http://www.indiaenews.com/asia/20070214/39480.htm|archivedate=9 February 2008|title=North Korea silent over Kim Jong Il successor|publisher=Indiaenews.com|date=14 February 2007|accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref> 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 where he was caught attempting to enter Japan on a [[fake passport]] to visit [[Tokyo Disneyland]].<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/stories/s289624.htm "Japan deports man claiming to be Kim Jong-Nam"], ABC News: The World Today, 4 May 2001 (see [http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi/image_maps/07/1171000000/1171617765/img/north_korea416x275.gif Family tree])</ref>

On 2 June 2009, it was reported that Kim Jong-il's youngest son, [[Kim Jong-un]], was to be North Korea's next leader.<ref>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jun/02/kim-jong-il-names-son-successor|title=North Korean leader Kim Jong-il 'names youngest son as successor'|work=The Guardian|date=2 June 2009|accessdate=28 December 2011|location=London}}</ref> Like his father and grandfather, he has also been given an official sobriquet, The Brilliant Comrade.<ref>{{cite news|title=North Korea: A 'Brilliant Comrade'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/world/asia/13briefs-NKOREAKIM.html|work=The New York Times|date=12 June 2009|accessdate=13 June 2009}}</ref> Prior to his death, it had been reported that Kim Jong-il was expected to officially designate the son as his successor in 2012.{{sfn|Lankov|2014|p=144}}

=== Re-election as leader ===
On 9 April 2009, Kim was re-elected as chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission,<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012061010/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2009/200904/news09/20090409-04ee.html |archivedate=12 October 2014 |url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2009/200904/news09/20090409-04ee.html|title=Kim Jong Il Elected Chairman of NDC of DPRK|publisher=KCNA|date=9 April 2009|accessdate=11 March 2010}}</ref> and made an appearance at the Supreme People's Assembly. This was the first time Kim was seen in public since August 2008. He was unanimously re-elected and given a standing ovation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7991151.stm|title=N. Korea leader appears in public|publisher=BBC News|date=9 April 2009|accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref>

On 28 September 2010, Kim was re-elected as General secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.<ref name="bbc._Nort">{{Cite web | title = North Korea's Kim paves way for family succession | publisher = BBC News | date = 28 September 2010 | accessdate = 12 April 2017 | url = http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11426284 }}</ref>

=== 2010 and 2011 foreign visits ===
[[File:Dmitry Medvedev and Kim Jong-il 2011-7.jpeg|thumb|250px|Kim with [[Russian President]] [[Dmitry Medvedev]] in [[Sosnovy Bor (garrison)|Sosnovy-Bor Military garrison]], [[Zaigrayevsky District]] [[Buriatya]] on 24 August 2011.]]
Kim reportedly visited the People's Republic of China in May 2010. He entered the country via his [[North Korean presidential trains|personal train]] on 3 May, and stayed in a hotel in [[Dalian]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8657688.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=North Korea's Kim 'visits China'|date=3 May 2010|accessdate=7 May 2010}}</ref> In May 2010, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs [[Kurt M. Campbell|Kurt Campbell]] told South Korean officials that Kim had only three years to live.<ref>[http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/03/17/2010031700811.html "Kim Jong-il 'Has 3 Years to Live'"], ''Chosun Ilbo'', 17 March 2010.</ref> Kim travelled to China again in August 2010, this time with his son, fueling speculation at the time that he was ready to hand over power to his son, [[Kim Jong-un]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/26/north-korean-leader-china|publisher=BBC News|title=North Korean leader Kim Jong-il 'visiting China with his son'|date=26 August 2010|accessdate=28 August 2010|location=London|first1=Justin|last1=McCurry|first2=Jonathan|last2=Watts}}</ref>

He returned to China again in May 2011, marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between China and the DPRK.<ref>{{cite web|author=颜筱箐|url=http://www.china.org.cn/video/2011-05/27/content_22651894.htm|title=DPRK leader Kim Jong-Il visits China|publisher=China.org.cn|date=27 May 2011|accessdate=19 December 2011}}</ref> In late August 2011, he traveled by train to the Russian Far East to meet with President [[Dmitry Medvedev]] for unspecified talks.<ref>Schwirtz, M. "Kim Il-Jong Visits Russia to Meet with President Medvedev", ''The New York Times''. 21 August 2011</ref>

=== Late 2011 ===
There were speculations that the visits of Kim Jong-il 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 Jong-il appeared in a military parade in Pyongyang on 9 September, accompanied by Kim Jong-un.<ref>{{cite web|last=Laurence|first=Jeremy|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/09/us-korea-north-parade-idUSTRE7881UC20110909|title=North Korea military parade shows leader's succession on course|agency=Reuters|date=9 September 2011|accessdate=19 April 2013}}</ref>

== Personal life ==

=== Family ===
{{Further information|Kim dynasty (North Korea)}}
[[File:Kimilsungia and Kimjongilia.JPG|thumb|Kim Jong-il and his father Kim Il-sung]]
There is no official information available about Kim Jong-il's marital history, but he is believed to have been officially married twice and to have had three [[mistress (lover)|mistresses]].<ref name="The Women in Kim's Life">{{cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501030630/kim_women.html |title=The Women in Kim's Life |accessdate=10 July 2010|deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710141001/http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501030630/kim_women.html |archivedate=10 July 2010 |df=dmy }}. Time.</ref> He had three known sons: [[Kim Jong-nam]], [[Kim Jong-chul]], [[Kim Jong-un]]. His two known daughters are [[Kim Sul-song]] and [[Kim Yo-jong]].<ref name=KJD8812>{{cite news|title=Kim Jong-un’s sister is having a ball|url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2957573|accessdate=8 August 2012|newspaper=Korea JoongAng Daily|date=8 August 2012|author=Lee Young-jong|author2=Kim Hee-jin}}</ref><ref name="theseoultimes.com">{{cite web|url=http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=3052|title=Kim Jong-Il's Daughter Serves as His Secretary|publisher=Theseoultimes.com|accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref>

Kim's first wife, [[Hong Il-chon]], was the daughter of a [[martyr]] who died during the [[Korean War]]. She was handpicked by his father and married to him in 1966. They have a girl called [[Kim Hye-kyung]],{{sfn|Breen|2012|p=64}} who was born in 1968. Soon, 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;<ref name="NK defector">[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/12/kim-jong-ils-death-north-korean-defectors-yodeok-prison.html "North Korean defector says Kim Jong Il stole her life"], ''Los Angeles Times'', 21 December 2011.</ref> Kim is reported to have forced her husband to divorce her. This relationship, started in 1970, was not officially recognized. They had one son, Kim Jong-nam (1971–2017) who was Kim Jong-il's eldest son. Kim kept both the relationship and the child a secret (even from his father) until he ascended to power in 1994.<ref name="NK defector"/><ref name="Kim's Secret Family">{{cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501030630/story.html |title=Kim's Secret Family |accessdate=26 June 2003|deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030626013857/http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501030630/story.html |archivedate=26 June 2003 |df=dmy }}, ''Time Asia'', 23 June 2003 (archive).</ref> However, after years of estrangement, Song is believed to have died in Moscow in the [[Central Clinical Hospital]] in 2002.<ref name="Martin">{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Bradley K.|title=Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|year=2004|location=New York, NY|pages=693–694|quote=Although a flurry of press dispatches at the time her sister defected claimed that Hye-rim had gone with Hye-rang, in fact, [Hye-rim] continued to live in Moscow until she died in May 2002.|isbn=0-312-32322-0}}</ref>

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.<ref name="The Women in Kim's Life"/> The two were estranged for some years before Kim's death. Kim had a daughter from this marriage, Kim Sul-song (born 1974).<ref name="theseoultimes.com"/>

His second mistress, [[Ko Yong-hui]], was a Japanese-born ethnic Korean and a dancer. She had taken over the role of [[First Lady]] until her death{{spnd}}reportedly of cancer{{spnd}}in 2004. They had two sons, Kim Jong-chul, in 1981, and Kim Jong-un (also "Jong Woon" or "Jong Woong"), in 1983.<ref name="Kim's Secret Family"/><ref name="Kim Jong-un's Birthday">[http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/12/11/2009121100429.html "N. Korea Heir Apparent 'Given More Auspicious Birthday"]. ''[[The Chosun Ilbo]]''. 11 December 2009.</ref> They also had a daughter, Kim Yo-jong, who was about 23 years old in 2012.<ref name=KJD8812/><ref name="Kim Yo Jong">{{cite web|title=Kim Yo Jong|url=https://nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com/kji-2/kim-yo-jong/|publisher=North Korea Leadership Watch|accessdate=8 August 2012|date=11 July 2012}}</ref>

After Ko's death, Kim lived with [[Kim Ok]], his third mistress, who had served as his personal secretary since the 1980s. She "virtually act[ed] as North Korea's first lady" and frequently accompanied Kim on his visits to military bases and in meetings with visiting foreign dignitaries. She traveled with Kim Jong-il on a secretive trip to China in January 2006, where she was received by Chinese officials as Kim's wife.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,205287,00.html|title=Report: Kim Jong Il Living With Former Secretary|publisher=Fox News Channel|date=24 July 2006|accessdate=28 December 2011|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007024355/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,205287,00.html|archivedate=7 October 2014}}</ref>

According to Michael Breen, author of the book "Kim Jong Il: North Korea's Dear Leader," the women intimately linked to Kim never acquired any power or influence of consequence. As he explains, their roles were limited to that of romance and domesticity.<ref>http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/24/world/la-fg-north-korea-women-20111225</ref>

He had a younger sister, [[Kim Kyong-hui]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1251955/Dictator-Kim-Jong-ils-younger-sister-makes-comeback-power-North-Korea.html|title=Dictator Kim Jong-il's younger sister makes comeback to power in North Korea|work=Daily Mail|date=19 February 2010|accessdate=25 February 2010|location=London}}</ref>

=== Personality ===
[[File:Kim Jong-Il.jpg|thumb|150px|Kim Jong-il in 2000]]
Like his father, Kim had a [[fear of flying]]<ref name="fp_phobia">{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/05/04/profiles_in_phobia|title=Profiles in Phobia|last=Swift|first=Andrew|date=4 May 2010|work=[[Foreign Policy]]|accessdate=6 May 2010}}</ref> and always traveled by [[North Korean leaders' trains|private armored train]] for state visits to Russia and China.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/0506/Secret-China-visit-All-aboard-Kim-Jong-il-s-luxury-train|title=Secret China visit: All aboard Kim Jong-il's luxury train|author=Stephen Kurczy|work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|date=6 May 2010}}</ref> The [[BBC]] reported that Konstantin Pulikovsky, a Russian emissary who traveled with Kim across Russia by train, told reporters that Kim had live [[lobster]]s air-lifted to the train every day and ate them with silver chopsticks.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1907197.stm|title=Profile: Kim Jong-il|publisher=BBC News|date=16 January 2009|accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref>

Kim was said to be a huge film fan, owning a collection of more than 20,000 [[video tape]]s and DVDs.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/08/wbr.kim.jong.il/ "North Korean leader loves Hennessey, Bond movies"], CNN, 8 January 2003.</ref><ref name="BBC News 19 December 2011">{{cite news|last=Savage|first=Mark|title=Kim Jong-il: The cinephile despot|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16245174|date=19 December 2011|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=19 December 2014}}</ref> His reported favourite movie franchises included ''[[James Bond]]'', ''[[Friday the 13th (franchise)|Friday the 13th]]'', ''[[Rambo (film series)|Rambo]]'', ''[[Godzilla (series)|Godzilla]]'' and [[Hong Kong action cinema]],<ref name="cinephile">{{cite news|last=Savage|first=Mark|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16245174|title=Kim Jong-il: The cinephile despot|publisher=BBC News|date=19 December 2011|accessdate=30 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The madness of Kim Jong Il|first=Philip|last=Gourevitch|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2003/nov/02/features.magazine37|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=2 November 2003|accessdate=19 December 2011|location=London}}</ref> with [[Sean Connery]] and [[Elizabeth Taylor]] his favourite male and female actors.<ref name="cinephile"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/front2453662.077777778.html|title=Movie-buff Kim Jong-Il seeks joint foreign film ventures|publisher=Worldtribune.com|accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref> He authored ''[[On the Art of the Cinema]]''. In 1978, on Kim's orders, South Korean film director [[Shin Sang-ok]] and his actress wife [[Choi Eun-hee]] [[Abduction of Shin Sang-ok and Choi Eun-hee|were kidnapped]] in order to build a North Korean film industry.<ref>{{cite news|last=Thomson|first=Mike|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2821221.stm|title=Kidnapped by North Korea|publisher=BBC News|date=5 March 2003|accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref> In 2006 he was involved in the production of the [[Juche]]-based movie ''[[The Schoolgirl's Diary]]'', which depicted the life of a young girl whose parents are scientists, with a [[Korean Central News Agency|KCNA]] news report stating that Kim "improved its script and guided its production".<ref>[http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2006/200608/news08/11.htm#5 "Film 'Diary of a Girl Student', Close Companion of Life"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901094022/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2006/200608/news08/11.htm#5 |date=1 September 2006 }}, Korea News Service, 10 August 2006.</ref>

In a 2011 news story, ''The Sun'' reported "Kim Jong-il was obsessed with [[Elvis Presley]]. His mansion was crammed with his idol's records and his collection of 20,000 Hollywood movies included Presley's titles{{spnd}}. He even copied the Presley's [[Las Vegas|Vegas]]-era look of giant shades, jumpsuits and bouffant hairstyle. It was reported in 2003 that Kim Jong-il had a huge [[porn film]] collection."<ref>"[http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/politics/4009537/West-on-alert-as-North-Koreas-Dear-Leader-dies.html Kim Jong-il's body on display as nation 'mourns']". ''The Sun''. 20 December 2011</ref>

Although Kim enjoyed many foreign forms of entertainment, according to former [[Supreme Guard Command|bodyguard]] [[Yodok concentration camp#Prisoners (Witnesses)|Lee Young Kuk]], he refused to consume any food or drink not produced in North Korea, with the exception of wine from France.<ref name="supremo">{{cite news|last=Macintyre|first=Donald|title=The Supremo in His Labyrinth|work=Time|date=18 February 2002|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,201976-1,00.html|accessdate=9 June 2010}}</ref> His former chef [[Kenji Fujimoto]], however, has stated that Kim sometimes sent him around the world to purchase a variety of foreign [[delicacy|delicacies]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200406/200406270015.html |title=Kim Jong-il Satisfies his Gourmet Appetite while his People Starve |accessdate=2004-08-30 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050311193942/http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200406/200406270015.html |archivedate=11 March 2005 |df=dmy }}. ''[[The Chosun Ilbo]]''. 27 June 2004.</ref>

Kim reportedly enjoyed basketball. Former [[United States Secretary of State]] [[Madeleine Albright]] ended her summit with Kim by presenting him with a basketball signed by [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] legend [[Michael Jordan]].<ref>[http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20061029-9999-1n29kim.html "The oddest fan"], ''U-T San Diego'', 29 October 2006.</ref> His official biography also claims that Kim composed six operas and enjoys staging elaborate [[musical theater|musicals]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/783967.stm|title=ASIA-PACIFIC &#124; Profile: Kim Jong-il|publisher=BBC News|date=9 June 2000|accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref> Kim referred to himself as an Internet expert.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,299757,00.html "North Korea Kim Jong Il an Internet Expert"], Fox News Channel, 5 October 2007.</ref>

[[File:Laika ac Samijyon (6900265643).jpg|thumb|Kim Jong-il and his father Kim Il-sung]]
United States Special Envoy for the Korean Peace Talks, Charles Kartman, who was involved in the 2000 Madeleine Albright summit with Kim, characterised Kim as a reasonable man in negotiations, to the point, but with a sense of humor and personally attentive to the people he was hosting.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kim/interviews/kartman.html|title=Interview: Charles Kartman|work=[[Frontline (U.S. TV series)|Frontline]]|publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service]]|date=20 February 2003|accessdate=14 April 2010}}</ref> However, psychological evaluations conclude that Kim Jong-il's [[antisocial personality disorder|antisocial]] features, such as his fearlessness in the face of sanctions and punishment, served to make negotiations extraordinarily difficult.{{sfn|Coolidge|Segal|2009|p=200}}

The field of psychology has long been fascinated with the personality assessment of dictators, a notion that resulted in an extensive personality evaluation of Kim 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 personality disorder|sadistic]], [[Paranoid personality disorder|paranoid]], [[Antisocial personality disorder|antisocial]], [[Narcissistic personality disorder|narcissistic]], [[Schizoid personality disorder|schizoid]] and [[Schizotypal personality disorder|schizotypal]]) were also shared by Kim Jong-il{{spnd}}coinciding primarily with the profile of Saddam Hussein.{{sfn|Coolidge|Segal|2009|p=199}}

[[File:Say cheese...in Korean!.jpg|thumb|240px|Kim Jong-il in 2010]]
The evaluation found 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{{spnd}}an attribute appearing to emanate from his antisocial personality pattern.{{sfn|Coolidge|Segal|2009|p=200}}

Defectors claimed that Kim had 17 different palaces and residences all over North Korea, including a private resort near [[Baekdu Mountain]], a seaside lodge in the city of [[Wonsan]], and [[Ryongsong Residence]], a palace complex northeast of Pyongyang surrounded with multiple fence lines, [[bunker]]s and anti-aircraft batteries.<ref>[http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk02300&num=83 "Kim Jong Il, Where He Sleeps and Where He Works"], Daily NK, 15 March 2005.</ref>

=== Finances ===
According to the ''[[Sunday Telegraph]]'', Kim had US$4{{nbsp}}billion on deposit in European banks in case he ever needed to flee North Korea. The ''Sunday Telegraph'' reported that most of the money was in banks in [[Luxembourg]].<ref>Arlow, Oliver, "[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/7442188/Kim-Jong-il-keeps-4bn-emergency-fund-in-European-banks.html Kim Jong-il keeps $4bn 'emergency fund' in European banks]", ''[[The Sunday Telegraph]]'', 14 March 2010.</ref>

== Death ==
{{main article|Death and state funeral of Kim Jong-il}}

It was reported that Kim Jong-il had died of a suspected heart attack on 17 December 2011 at 8:30{{nbsp}}a.m. while [[North Korean leaders' trains|traveling by train]] to an area outside [[Pyongyang]].<ref name="bbcdeath">{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16239693|title=N Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies|date=19 December 2011|accessdate=19 December 2011|publisher=BBC News|quote=died on Saturday}}</ref><ref name="ABC News - 19Dec2011 - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dead">{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-19/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-il-dead/3738526?WT.svl=news0|title=North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dead|date=19 December 2011|publisher=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|accessdate=19 December 2011}}</ref> It was reported in December 2012, however, that he had died "in a fit of rage" over construction faults at a crucial power plant project at [[Huichon]] in Jagang Province.<ref name=NYDN>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/kim-jong-il-died-rage-faulty-power-plant-article-1.1230251#ixzz2Gf592ZtEi|title=Late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il died 'in a fit of rage' over damages at crucial power plant project: report|date=31 December 2012|accessdate=31 December 2012|work=Daily News|location=New York|quote=South Korea media reports the 'Supreme Commander' suffered a heart attack after learning that a hydroelectric dam had suffered a major leak.}}</ref> He was succeeded by his youngest son [[Kim Jong-un]], who was hailed by the Korean Central News Agency as the "Great Successor".<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45719296/ns/world_news-asia_pacific "Kim Jong Il's youngest son dubbed 'great successor'"]. MSNBC. 19 December 2011</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=U.S. senator says the world is better off without Kim Jong Il, North Korea's Dear Leader, who 'is joining Gaddafi, Bin Laden and Hitler in hell'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2075987/Kim-Jong-Il-dead-North-Korea-mourn-West-fear-rogue-nuclear-state.html|accessdate=20 December 2011|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=20 December 2011|author=Thomas Durante|author2=Jennifer Madison|author3=Lee Moran|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/12/18/kim-jong-ils-son-kim-jong-un-poised-to-lead-north-korea|title=Kim Jong-il's son Kim Jong-un poised to lead North Korea|work=National Post|location=Canada|date=10 October 2010|accessdate=20 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Demick|first=Barbara|title=Kim Jong Il death: Powerful uncle could overshadow Kim's son|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/12/kim-jong-un-overshadow-uncle-kim-jong-il-dead.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=19 December 2011}}</ref> According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), during his death a fierce snowstorm paused and the sky glowed red above the sacred [[Mount Paektu]]. The ice on a famous lake also cracked so loud that it seemed to shake the Heavens and the Earth.<ref name="bbcskyglow">{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16297811|title=Kim Jong-il death: 'Nature mourns' N Korea leader|publisher=BBC|date=22 December 2011|accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref>

Kim Jong-il's funeral took place on 28 December in Pyongyang, with a mourning period lasting until the following day. South Korea's military was immediately put on alert after the announcement and its National Security Council convened for an emergency meeting, out of concern that political jockeying in North Korea could destabilise the region. Asian stock markets fell soon after the announcement, due to similar concerns.<ref name="bbcdeath"/>

On 12 January 2012, North Korea called Kim Jong-il the "eternal leader" and announced that his body would be preserved and displayed at Pyongyang's [[Kumsusan Memorial Palace]]. Officials also announced plans to install statues, portraits, and "towers to his immortality" across the country.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57358107/kim-jong-il-to-be-enshrined-as-eternal-leader/ Kim Jong Il to be enshrined as "eternal leader" ([[CBS News]], 12 January 2012)]</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/13/world/asia/north-korea-to-display-dead-leaders-body.html North Korea to Display Dead Leader’s Body ([[New York Times]], 12 January 2012)]</ref> His birthday of 16 February was declared "the greatest auspicious holiday of the nation" and was named the Day of the Shining Star.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kim Jong-il to be put on display|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-13/north-korea-to-embalm-kim-jong-il/3770662/?site=sydney|accessdate=12 January 2012|newspaper=ABC Sydney|date=13 January 2012}}</ref>

In February 2012, on what would have been his 71st birthday, Kim Jong-il was posthumously made [[Dae Wonsu]] (usually translated as ''[[Generalissimo]]'', literally [[Grand Marshal]]), the nation's top military rank. He had been named [[Wonsu#North Korea|Wonsu]] (Marshal) in 1992 when North Korean founder Kim Il-sung was promoted to Dae Wonsu.<ref>{{cite news|title=NKorea promotes Kim Jong Un to marshal |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/17/2900151/nkorea-promotes-kim-jong-un-to.html#storylink=cpy |accessdate=18 July 2012 |newspaper=[[The Miami Herald]] |date=18 July 2012 }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Also in February 2012, the North Korean government created the [[Order of Kim Jong-il]] in his honor and awarded it to 132 individuals for services in building a "thriving socialist nation" and for increasing defense capabilities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/9080823/North-Korea-awards-132-medals-to-commemorate-Kim-Jong-ils-birthday.html|title=North Korea awards 132 medals to commemorate Kim Jong-il's birthday|work=The Telegraph|date=14 February 2012|accessdate=11 August 2013}}</ref>

== Official titles ==
{{Main article|List of Kim Jong-il's titles}}
[[File:Statue at Mansudae Art Studio.JPG|thumb|Equestrian statues of younger versions of Kim Jong-il (right) and Kim Il-sung, Pyongyang]]
* Party Center of the WPK and Member, Central Committee of the WPK (1970s)
* Dear Leader (''Chinaehaneun Jidoja'') (late 1970s–1994)
* Member, Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK
* Secretary, [[Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea]] (1974–1997)
* [[Politburo Standing Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|Politburo Standing Committee member]], WPK Central Committee (1980–2011)
* Supreme Commander, [[Korean People's Army]] (25 December 1991{{spnd}}17 December 2011)
* Marshal of the DPRK (1993–2011)
* Chairman, [[National Defence Commission of North Korea]] (1993–2011)
* Great Leader (''Widehan Ryongdoja'') (July 1994{{spnd}}December 2011)
* General Secretary, [[Workers' Party of Korea]] (October 1997{{spnd}}December 2011)
* Chairman, [[Central Military Commission (DPRK)]] (October 1997{{spnd}}December 2011)
* Eternal Leader (posthumous) (January 2012{{spnd}}present)
* Generalissimo of the DPRK (posthumous) (January 2012{{spnd}}present)
* Eternal General Secretary, Worker's Party of Korea (posthumous) (11 April 2012{{spnd}}present)
* Eternal Chairman of the National Defence Commission (posthumous) (13 April 2012{{spnd}}present)
* Eternal leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (posthumous) (7 May 2016{{spnd}}present)
* Eternal leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (posthumous) (29 June 2016{{spnd}}present)

== Published works ==
{{main article|Kim Jong-il bibliography}}
According to North Korean sources, Kim Jong-il published some 890 works during a period of his career from June 1964 to June 1994.<ref>{{Cite web | title = 1. A Great Thinker and Theoretician  | work = naenara.com.kp | date = May 2008 | accessdate = 11 December 2015 | url = http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/juche/great.php?great+1+1-01#contents }}</ref> According to KCNA, the number of works from 1964 to 2001 was 550.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Over 530 works of Kim Jong Il published | publisher  = KCNA | date = 8 June 2001 | accessdate = 6 May 2016 |archive-date=12 October 2014 |url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2001/200106/news06/18.htm#9 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141012063225/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2001/200106/news06/18.htm#9 }}</ref> In 2000, it was reported that the [[Workers' Party of Korea Publishing House]] has published at least 120 works by Kim.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Over 120 works of Kim Jong Il brought out |publisher=KCNA |work=web.archive.org |date=26 December 2000 |accessdate=29 February 2016 |url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2000/200012/news12/26.htm |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012070821/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2000/200012/news12/26.htm |archivedate=12 October 2014 }}</ref> In 2009, KCNA put the numbers as follows:
{{block quote|text=At least 354,000 copies of [Kim Jong-il's works] were translated into nearly 70 languages and came off the press in about 80 countries in the new century.

There were more than 500 activities for studying and distributing the works in at least 120 countries and regions in 2006. The following year witnessed a total of more than 600 events of diverse forms in at least 130 countries and regions. And 2008 saw at least 3,000 functions held in over 150 countries and regions for the same purpose.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Kim Jong Il Authors Lots of Works | publisher = KCNA | date = August 25, 2009 | accessdate = 6 May 2016 | archive-date=12 October 2014 | url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2009/200908/news25/20090825-03ee.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141012052403/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2009/200908/news25/20090825-03ee.html }}</ref>}}

The ''Selected Works of Kim Jong-il (Enlarged Edition)'', whose publishing has continued posthumously, runs into volume 24 in Korean,<ref>{{Cite web | title ='Selected Works of Kim Jong Il' (Enlarged Edition) Vol. 24 Off Press  | publisher = KCNA | date = 22 November 2014 | accessdate = 6 March 2016 | archive-date= 8 January 2016 | url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2014/201411/news22/20141122-14ee.html | archive-url = http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.kcna.co.jp%2Fitem%2F2014%2F201411%2Fnews22%2F20141122-14ee.html&=&=&oq=&gs_l=&pbx=1 }}</ref> and to volume 15 in English.<ref name="KPEA2011">{{cite book|title=Korea Publications Exchange Association catalogue|url=http://www.nordkorea-info.de/files/KPEA-Catalogue-2015-10-HP_7xtn9yg0.pdf#27|publisher=Korea Publications Exchange Association|page=[27]|year=2015}}</ref> Volumes three to eight were never published in English.<ref name="nort_Sele">{{Cite web | title = Selected Works | author =  | work = north-korea-books.com | date =  | accessdate = 6 May 2016 | url = http://www.north-korea-books.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=1_18_46 | quote =  }}</ref>

The ''Complete Collection of Kim Jong-il's Works'' is currently in volume 13.<ref>{{Cite web | work = Rodong Sinmun | title = 'Complete Collection of Kim Jong Il's Works' Vol. 13 Published | date = 6 May 2016 | accessdate = 6 May 2016 | url = http://www.rodong.rep.kp/en/index.php?strPageID=SF01_02_01&newsID=2016-05-05-0014 }}</ref> There is a "Kim Jong-il's Works Exhibition House" dedicated to his works in North Korea, holding 1,100 of his works and manuscripts.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Service Personnel, People Visit Kim Jong Il's Works Exhibition House | publisher = KCNA | date = 18 February 2015 | accessdate = 6 March 2016 | archive-date= 18 February 2015 | url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2015/201502/news18/20150218-14ee.html | archive-url = https://nkaggregator.com/2015/02/18/service-personnel-people-visit-kim-jong-ils-works-exhibition-house/ }}</ref>

In his teens and university years, Kim Jong-il wrote poems&nbsp;– notably "[[O Korea, I will Add Glory to Thee]]".<ref>{{Cite web | title = 23. Leader Kim Jong Il, genius of literature and art  | work = naenara.com.kp | date = March 2010 | accessdate = 11 December 2015 | url = http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/juche/great.php?great+1+1-23#contents }}</ref> Kim Jong-il also wrote song lyrics.<ref name="lyr">{{Cite web | title = Song lyrics by Kim Jong Il | author =  | work = naenara.com.kp | date =  | accessdate = 11 February 2016 | url = http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/society/hymn_music.php?c }}</ref> His first major literary work was ''[[On the Art of the Cinema]]'' in 1973.<ref name="Lim2015">{{cite book|author=Jae-Cheon Lim|title=Leader Symbols and Personality Cult in North Korea: The Leader State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yswqBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|date=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-56741-7|page=28}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|North Korea|Politics}}
* [[Index of Korea-related articles]]
* [[North Korean leader's residences]]
* [[Sinuiju North Korean Leader's Residence]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Works cited ===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|title=Kim Jong-il: North Korea's Dear Leader: Who He Is What He Wants and What To Do About Him (Revised and Updated Edition)|first=Michael|last=Breen|publisher=John Wiley & Sons Singapore|year=2012|location=Singapore|isbn=978-1-118-15377-2|ref=harv}}
*{{Cite journal|url=http://www.uccs.edu/~faculty/fcoolidg/pdfs/Kim%20Jong-il%202009%20Behavioral%20Sciences%20of%20Terrorism.pdf|title=Is Kim Jong-il like Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler? A personality disorder evaluation|first1=Frederick L.|last1=Coolidge|first2=Daniel L.|last2=Segal|date=2009|ref=harv|journal=Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression|volume=1|number=3|pages=195-202|doi=10.1080/19434470903017664}}
*{{cite book|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4002#.pdf|title=Kim Jong Il : Brief History|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|year=1998|oclc=272459470|ref={{harvid|Kim Jong-il Brief History|1998}}}}
*{{cite book|last=Lankov|first=Andrei|title=The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FHpYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4|year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-939003-8|ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last=Becker|first=Jasper|title=Rogue Regime: Kim Jong Il and the Looming Threat of North Korea|year=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=USA|isbn=978-0-19-530891-4}}
*{{cite book|title=History of Revolutionary Activities of Chairman Kim Jong Il|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4058#.pdf|year=2015|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|isbn=978-9946-0-1309-1}}
*{{cite book|author=Jo Song-baek|title=The Leadership Philosophy of Kim Jong Il|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4010#.pdf|year=1999|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|oclc=68890556}}
*{{cite book|author=Kim Chol-u|title=Songun Politics of Kim Jong Il|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4009#.pdf|year=2002|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang}}
*{{cite book|title=Kim Jong Il : Biography|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4013#.pdf|volume=1|year=2005|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang}}
*{{cite book|title=Kim Jong Il : Biography|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4023#.pdf|volume=2|year=2006|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang}}
*{{cite book|title=Kim Jong Il : Biography|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4034#.pdf|volume=3|year=2008|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang}}
*{{cite book|title=Kim Jong Il : Short Biography|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4037#.pdf|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|oclc=79301411}}
*{{cite book|author=Kim Nam-jin|title=Guiding Light General Kim Jong Il|year=1997|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang}}
*{{cite book|author1=Ri Il-bok|author2=Yun Sang-hyon|title=The Great Man Kim Jong Il : Anecdotage|volume=1|year=1989|publisher=Foreign Language Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|oclc=223172604}}
*{{cite book|author=Ri Il-bok|title=The Great Man Kim Jong Il : Anecdotage|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4008#.pdf|volume=2|year=1995|publisher=Foreign Language Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|oclc=37141068}}
*{{cite book|author=Pae Kyong-su|title=Kim Jong Il: The Individual, Thoughts and Leadership|volume=1|year=1993|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|oclc=51345314}}
*{{cite book|author=Pae Kyong-su|title=Kim Jong Il: The Individual, Thoughts and Leadership|volume=2|year=1995|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|oclc=867581955}}
*{{cite book|author=Takashi Nada|title=Korea in Kim Jong Il's Era|year=2000|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|oclc=272459531}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|Kim Jong-il}}
* {{NYTtopic|people/k/_kim_jong_il}}
* {{Worldcat id|lccn-nr97-32952}}
*{{cite web|url=http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200406/kt2004060817432954140.htm |title=Born in the USSR |accessdate=2004-09-13 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061102085028/http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200406/kt2004060817432954140.htm |archivedate=2 November 2006 |df=dmy }} &nbsp;– Kim Jong-il's childhood.
* [http://www.east-asia-intel.com/eai/Sample/2.html The many family secrets of Kim Jong Il]
* [http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=1643 "Hidden Daughter" Visits Kim Jong-il Every Year] (also includes photos of Kim during his youth)
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3203523.stm BBC, North Korea's secretive 'first family']
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10745725 Obituary: Kim Jong-il], BBC News, 19 December 2011
* {{DMOZ|Regional/Asia/North_Korea/Society_and_Culture/History/Kim_Jong_Il}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Kim Yong-ju]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Head of the [[Organization and Guidance Department of the Workers' Party of Korea|Organization and Guidance Department]]|years=1974–2011}}
{{s-aft|after=Unknown, vacant}}
|-
{{s-vac|last=[[Kim Il-sung]]|rows=2}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea]]<br><small>(Eternal general secretary since 11 April 2012)</small>|years=1997–2011}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kim Jong-un]]|as=First Secretary}}
|-
{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of the [[Central Military Commission (DPRK)|WPK Central Military Commission]]|years=1997–2011}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kim Jong-un]]}}
|-
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=}}
{{s-ttl|title=First Vice Chairman of the [[National Defence Commission of North Korea|National Defence Commission]]|years=1990–1993}}
{{s-aft|after=[[O Chin-u]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Kim Il-sung]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea|Chairman of the National Defence Commission]]<br><small>(Eternal chairman from 13 April 2012 to 29 June 2016)</small>|years=1993–2011}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kim Jong-un]]|as=First chairman}}
|-
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Kim Il-sung]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army]]|years=1991–2011}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kim Jong-un]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{NKSupremeLeaders}}
{{WPKHeads}}
{{Family of Kim Jong-il}}
{{Works of Kim Jong-il}}
{{Leaders of Korea}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Jong-il}}
[[Category:Kim Jong-il| ]]
[[Category:1940s births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Khabarovsky District]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Malta]]
[[Category:Kim Il-sung University alumni]]
[[Category:Children of national leaders]]
[[Category:Heads of state of North Korea]]
[[Category:Kim dynasty (North Korea)]]
[[Category:North Korean communists]]
[[Category:Korean nationalists]]
[[Category:Communist rulers]]
[[Category:Korean expatriates in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Korean film producers]]
[[Category:Leaders of political parties in North Korea]]
[[Category:Members of the Supreme People's Assembly]]
[[Category:Koryo-saram]]
[[Category:Workers' Party of Korea politicians]]
[[Category:Generalissimos]]
[[Category:Anti-Revisionists]]
[[Category:20th-century writers]]
[[Category:Asian film producers]]
[[Category:20th-century North Korean actors]]
[[Category:21st-century North Korean people]]