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Today on the Korean Atlas and History: Korean Leaders. 김정일.

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김정일 was the leader of North Korea from its 1994, until his death in 2011. He

was known for his repressive and totalitarian dictatorship. He assumed leadership

during the economic crisis as the Soviet Union fell. He oversaw a military first policy

in North Korea, as well as some tentative reforms to the North, such as the Kaesong

Industrial Park.

Throughout most of World War II, 김일성, the father of 김정일, was serving in a

unit that belonged to the Soviet Red Army in Russia. 김정일 was born in 1941 under the

Russian name Yuri Irsenovich Kim. His definite birthplace is unknown, but it was probably

camp Voroshilov near Nikolsk. 김정일’s mother, 김정숙 was 김일성’s first wife. 김정일 had a

younger brother, 김만일, and a younger sister, 김경희. In 1945, when World War II ended,

the family returned to Korea and moved into a former Japanese officer’s mansion in 평양,

which had a garden pool. 김정일 grew up with the nickname “Yura,” while younger brother

김만일 had the nickname “Shura.” Official North Korean biographies state that the two

brothers got along very well and played together. In 1947 or 1948, 김만일 died. According

to North Korean sources, the two brothers were playing their garden pool in the city of

평양, when 김만일 accidently drowned. Russian sources, however, indicated that he drowned

in a well, in Vyatskoye, before the family returned to Korea. Chinese sources say that the
brothers were playing in chest-high water when 김정일 held 김만일’s head under the water,

laughing, yelling, and swearing at him. North Korean reports state that 김정일 could never

get over the trauma of losing his younger brother.

In 1949, 김정일’s mother, 김정숙 died while giving birth while delivering a stillborn

child, but this story is not confirmed. Other stories say she died from tuberculosis or she

was shot and bled to death. The official story from North Korea is that she died from “the

hardships she had endured during the years as a guerrilla fighter.”

김정일 was active involved in politics throughout his schooling. He was active in the

Korean Children’s Union and the Democratic Youth League of North Korea. In September,

1957, Kim became the vice-chairman of his middle school’s Democratic Youth League of

North Korea. He was vice-chairman because the chairman had to be a teacher. In the early

1970s, Kim received education in the English language in Malta, when he took vacations

there.

김일성 had, by this time, remarried and had another son named 김평일. 김평일

served and continues to serve in North Korean embassies in Europe, and was specifically the

North Korean ambassador to Poland. Many suspect that 김평일 was sent to Europe to avoid

a power struggle between the sons. In 1966, 김일성 handpicked a woman named 홍일촌

who was married to 김정일. They had a girl named 김혜경, who was born in 1968. The two

divorced in 1969. In 1970, 김정일 began a relationship with an actress named 송혜림. He

reportedly forced her husband to divorce her. The relationship between 김정일 and 송혜림

was not official, though they did have a son name 김정남. In 1974, Kim married another
woman hand-picked by his father, 김영숙. The two had a daughter the same year, named

김솔송. The two soon became estranged. It was sometime in the early 1970s when Kim met

his second mistress, 고용희.

김정일 always had a fear of flying. He only travelled by private armored train

when he took state visits. Kim was also a huge film fan, owning a collection of more

than 20,000 video tapes and DVDs. His favorite franchise included James Bond,

Friday the 13th, Rambo, Godzilla, Otoko wa Tsurai you, and Hong Kong action

cinema. His favorite actors were Sean Connery and Elizabeth Taylor. In 1978, Kim

ordered the kidnap of South Korean director Shin Sang-ok and his wife Choi Eun-

hee to make them build up the North Korean film industry.

By 1974, the Workers Party of Korea had already anointed 김정일 the successor to

김일성. In February of 1972, 깁정일 was made a member of the Seventh Supreme People’s

Assembly. By the early 1980s, he had assumed the title 친애하는 지도자 or “Dear Leader”

and had begun to create his personality cult. On September 25th, 1981, Kim had his fourth

child with his second mistress, 고용희. This boy was named 김종철. On January 8, 1983, the

two had a second son, 김정은, the current leader of North Korea. On September 26, 1987,

the two had a third child, a girl named 김여정.

On December 24, 1991, 김정일 was named the Supreme Commander of the Korean

People’s Army. In 1992, 김일성 publicly stated that 김정일 was in charge of all internal

affairs in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or North Korea. His mistress, 고용희

took on the role of first lady.

 Changes were made to the North Korean government which made it more autocratic

and centralized under 김정일’s control. One example of this is the leadership contrast

between 김일성 and 김정일. 김일성 required his leaders to be loyal to him, although he

often sought their advice during decision making. 깁정일, however, demanded absolute

obedience and agreement from party officials, without advice or compromise. 김정일 even

directed the minor details of state affairs, such as the size of houses for party secretaries

and the delivery of gifts to his subordinates. Kim inherited his father’s cult of personality

and began to develop it. Many believe that people adhered to his cult of personality solely

out of respect for 김일성 or out of fear of punishment for failure to pay homage.

In 1983, Rangoon Burma was bombed, killing 17 South Korean officials, and 4

cabinet members. Later, in 1987, a bomb went off aboard Korean Air Flight 858, killing 115

passengers. In the midst of Juche ideology, these two events drew countries further from

the DPRK, leading to severe economic stagnation in North Korea. 1994 to 1998 was a period

of famine that badly scarred North Korea.

On July 8, 1994, 김일성 suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 82. On

October 7, 1997, 기정일 officially took over his father’s post as General Secretary of the

Worker’s Party of Korea. In 1998, the post of president was written out of the constitution,

and 김일성 was named the country’s “Eternal President.” Kim was re-elected as chairman of

the National Defense Commission and the constitution was amended declaring his new

position to be “the highest post of the state.”

 As a statesman, Kim enjoyed many foreign forms of entertainment, yet he refused to

consume any food or drink not produced in North Korea, with the exception of wine from

France. He also enjoyed basketball and once Madeline Albright, former US secretary of State

presented him with a basketball signed by Michael Jordan.

The 1990s was a devastating time for North Korea. The famine of North Korea began

around 1994. Poor land management led to severe floods, which only made the famine

worse. Juche ideology and foreign policies made it difficult to import goods necessary to

sustain industry. The World Food Program considers 600 grams of food per day to be less

than a survival ration. By 1997, the North Korean food distribution program was offering

around 128 grams of food per day, per citizen. Around 62% of the population relied on the

public distribution system of food, yet it was only feeding about 6% of the population. It is

difficult to know for certain, but an estimated 500,000 to 600,000 people died during this

time. In the wake of this food shortage, the government began formally allowing some

small scale bartering and trade. Many of these capitalist markets still exist today in the

north.

In 1998, South Korean president 김대중 implemented the “Sunshine Policy” toward

North Korea, in order to improve relations. In this way, the Kaesong Industrial Park was

created as a joint project between the north and south in 2003. It was located just north of

the demilitarized zone between north and south Korea.

The Kaesong Industrial Park allowed South Koreans to employ cheap labor that was

educated, skilled, and fluent in Korean. For the North, it meant that they could have an
important source of foreign currency. By 2013, 123 South Korean companies employed

approximately 53,000 North Korean workers at Kaesong Industrial Park. The wages paid to

the north totaled about $90 million each year, paid directly to the government of North

Korea. On February 10, 2016, the South temporarily closed the park in protest over North

Korean provocations, including a satellite launch and a claimed hydrogen bomb test.

The next day, the North announced it was expelling all South Korean workers and

said it will freeze all South Korean assets and equipment at the jointly run factory

park. All 280 South Korean workers present at Kaesong left hours after the

announcement by the North.

In 1994, Kim signed an Agreement Framework to freeze and dismantle the

North’s nuclear weapons program in exchange for aid in producing two power

generating nuclear reactors, as well as assurance that the country would not be

invaded again. Yet, in 2002, Kim’s government admitted to producing nuclear

weapons under this agreement. They argued that secret production was necessary

for security purposes.

A 2004 Human Rights Watch report said that the North was “among the

world’s most repressive governments,” having up to 200,000 political prisoners. The

government was accused of “crimes against humanity” for the famine of the 1990s.

Amnesty International condemned Kim for leaving “millions of North Koreans mired

in poverty” and detaining hundreds of thousands of people in prison camps.

 In 2004, 고용희, Kim’s second mistress and acting first lady died of cancer. He soon

began to live with his third mistress, 김옥, who served as the new North Korean first lady.

On September 9, 2008, Kim did not show up for a military parade celebrating

North Korea’s 60th anniversary. US intelligence believed he may have been gravely ill

after suffering a stroke. By September 10, reports mentioned that Kim had intended

to attend the event but decided not to because of the aftermath of the surgery.

Further reports mentioned that he needed time to recuperate from his stroke, with

some parts of his hands and feet paralyzed.

In November 2008, Japan’s TBS TV network reported that Kim had suffered a

second stroke in October. However, South Korea’s intelligence agency rejected this

report. On April 9, 2009, Kim was re-elected as chairman of the National Defense

commission, making his first appearance since August 2008. He was unanimously re-

elected and given a standing ovation. On June 2, 2009, 기정운 was reported to

become North Korea’s next leader. He had also been given an official nickname,

“The Brilliant Comrade.”

Through 2010 and 2011, Kim made trips to China and Russia, meeting with

officials there. Many speculated that his health was recovering. But, on December

17th, 2011, while on a train outside of 평양, Kim suffered a heart attack. Later reports,

however, said that he died in a fit of rage over construction faults at a power plant

project in the city of 희천. His funeral took place December 28, 2011, in 평양. On
January 12, North Korea called him the “eternal leader” and put his body on display

at Pyeongyang’s 금수산 Memorial Palace. He was succeeded by his son, 김정운.

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Thank You for listening to this episode of the Korean Atlas and History. Most

of today’s information was taken from the 나무 Wiki and Wikipedia. All of our

episodes can be found and downloaded from koreanatlasandhistory.com. Thank

you for listening and we’ll see you next time.