Kim Jong Il: Difference between revisions

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	to be because ] did not want a power struggle between his two sons.

	In ], Kim was made Party secretary of organization and propaganda, and in ], he was officially designated his father's successor. During the next 15 years, he accumulated further positions, among them Minister of Culture and head of party operations against South Korea.

	Kim gradually made his presence felt within the Korean Workers Party from the Seventh Plenum of the Fifth Central Committee in September ], leading the "Three Revolution Team" campaigns. He was often referred to as the "Party Center", due to his growing influence over the daily operations of the Party.

	By the time of the Sixth Party Congress in ] ], Kim Jong-il's control of the Party operation was complete. He was given senior posts in the ], the Military Commission and the party ]. When he was made a member of the Seventh Supreme People's Assembly in ] ], it had become clear to international observers that he was the heir apparent to succeed his father as the supreme leader of the DPRK.

	At this time Kim assumed the title "Dear Leader" and the government began building a ] around him patterned after that of his father, the "Great Leader". Kim Jong-il was regularly hailed by the media as the "peerless leader" and "the great successor to the revolutionary cause". He emerged as the most powerful figure behind his father in the DPRK.

	In ], Kim was also named supreme commander of the North Korean armed forces. Since the Army is the real foundation of power in North Korea, this was a vital step. It appears that the veteran Defense Minister, ], one of Kim Il-sung's most loyal subordinates, engineered Kim Jong-il's acceptance by the Army as the next leader of the North Korea, despite his lack of military service. The only other possible leadership candidate, Prime Minister ] (no relation), was removed from his posts in ]. In ], Kim Il-sung publicly stated that his son was in charge of all internal affairs in North Korea.

	By the ], North Korea was in deep economic crisis as the economy stagnated, aggravated by Kim Il-sung's policy of '']'' (self-reliance), which cut the country off from almost all external trade, even with its traditional partners, the Soviet Union and China. During this period, the DPRK resorted to increasingly desperate measures to raise hard currency and fend off its many enemies, and Kim Jong-il seems to have been responsible for some of the more bizarre of these, such as the kidnapping of people from Japan and the dealing of drugs through embassies.

	] accused Kim of ordering the ] ] in ], ] (now ], ]), which killed 17 visiting South Korean officials, including four cabinet members, and another in ] which killed all 115 on board ] ]. No direct evidence has emerged to link Kim to the bombings. A North Korean agent confessed to planting a bomb in the case of the second.

	==In power==
	Kim Il-sung died in ] age 82, and Kim Jong-il assumed control of the Party and state apparatus. Although the post of President was left vacant, and appears to have been abolished in deference to the memory of Kim Il-sung, Kim took the titles of General Secretary of the Party and chairman of the National Defense Commission, the real center of power in North Korea. In ] this position was declared to be "the highest post of the state", so Kim may be regarded as North Korean head of state from that date.

	The state-controlled economy continued to stagnate throughout the ], as a result of poor industrial and agricultural productivity, the loss of guaranteed markets following the fall of the Soviet Union and the introduction of a market economy in China, and the regime's huge expenditure on armaments. With a hostile international environment, and given the structural imbalances stemming from decades of allocating resources to the defense sector, North Korea under Kim Jong-il has shown no signs of shrinking its huge military—probably the highest relative to the size of the economy of any country in the world.

	By ], there were frequent reports from reliable sources (such as the ]) of famine in all parts of North Korea except ]. North Korean citizens ran increasingly desperate risks to escape from the country, mainly into China.

	On the domestic front, Kim has given occasional signs that he favors economic reforms similar to those carried out in China by ], and on visits to China he has expressed admiration for China's economic progress. But at home he has done little or nothing to relax the absolute control of the state and party over all aspects of economic life. He has certainly given no sign of considering the decollectivisation of agriculture, which was the foundation of Deng's reforms.

	In the time span coinciding with ]'s visit to the North (see the section on international affairs below), however, North Korea introduced a number of economic changes, including price and wage increases. Some analysts said that these measures were designed to lift production and rein in the black market. Kim has announced plans to import and develop new technologies and ambitions to develop North Korea's fledgling ] industry.

	In early ] Kim Jong-il, age 62, appears firmly in control of North Korea, and is grooming his son, ], to succeed him. His eldest son, ], was earlier believed to be the designated heir, but he appears to have fallen out of favour after being arrested in New Tokyo International Airport (now ]) in ], ], near ], in ] while traveling on a forged passport.

	North Korea does not seem to be in imminent danger of collapse, despite its international and economic difficulties. In these circumstances, Kim could stay in power indefinitely so long as he retains the support of the army.

	On ] ] a large explosion occurred at the ] several hours after a train passed through the station returning Kim from his visit to China. The disaster killed upwards of 3,000 people. Initially, it was reported that the explosion was caused by an electrical fault; however, the South Korean media reports that there is evidence to suggest the incident may have been an ] attempt. Given the reclusive nature of the North Korean regime, it is difficult to confirm or refute this possibility with any certainty.

	In November 2004, the ] news agency published reports that unnamed foreign diplomats in Pyongyang had observed the removal of portraits of Kim Jong-Il around the country. The North Korean government has vigorously denied these reports. Radiopress, the Japanese radio monitoring agency, reported later that month that North Korean media has stopped referring to Kim by the honorific "dear leader" and that instead Korean Central Broadcast, the Korean Central News Agency and other media have been describing him simply as "general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission, and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army". It is unclear whether the possible curtailing of Kim's ] indicates a struggle within the North Korean leadership or whether it is a deliberate attempt by Kim to moderate his image in the outside world.

	==International affairs==
	Kim Jong-il's government has made some efforts to improve relations with ], and with the election of ] as South Korean president in ] an opportunity for negotiations was created. In June ] a summit meeting was held, the first between the leaders of the two Koreas, and it seemed that a genuine thaw, leading to an influx of desperately needed South Korean aid and investment in the North, was possible. But the two sides were subsequently unable to agree on any substantial (as opposed to symbolic) improvement in their relations. (For additional details on the ] ] summit between the leaders of the two Koreas, see ].)

	Kim's relationship with the ] has been equally difficult. During the ] administration, Secretary of State ] visited Pyongyang in ], and extracted a promise from Kim that the DPRK would not pursue its nuclear weapons program if the U.S. would agree to pay for a nuclear energy facility for the DPRK. This deal never came to fruition: the DPRK continued to develop nuclear capabilities, and the U.S. never paid for the substitute facility. The administration of ] adopted a tougher stance toward the DPRK, accusing it of nuclear blackmail. Bush declared the DPRK to be part of the "]" along with ] and ]. The Chinese government has attempted to mediate between the DPRK and the United States.

	In April 2004 Kim paid an "unofficial visit" to ] (though news of the visit leaked out) and met with Chinese leaders who tried to persuade him that a U.S. invasion of North Korea was unlikely and that he should give up ].

	In spite of increased hopes for the resumption of the Six Party Talks on North Korean nuclear disarmament, in February 2005 Kim caught the international community flat-footed with the announcement that North Korea possessed a nuclear arsenal.

	==Personal==
	Before his accession to power, Kim Jong-il was frequently accused of dishonesty, drunkenness, sexual excess of various kinds and even insanity, particularly in the South Korean press. While this is not an uncommon pattern of behavior in the sons of dictators (see ], ], ] and ] and ]), many of these accusations seem to have been fabricated by the ] (KCIA) of South Korea.

	Some of these stories however come from defectors from the DPRK, and are considered more credible. Kim's former Japanese chef has said in newspaper interviews that Kim has a 10,000-bottle wine cellar, likes blonde Western women, collects ] sports cars, stages all-night banquets at which attendance and heavy drinking is compulsory for high officials, and has a troupe of strippers for his personal entertainment. According to this account Kim once sent his wife and children on a secret trip to ]. Kim is also said to be a film fan, owning a collection of some 20,000 video tapes . However, this is disputed, as Kim himself has said he rarely watches movies. His partiality for aspects of ] extends to following ] action. ] ended her summit with Kim by presenting him with a basketball signed by ].{{ref\|NBA}}

	Some of Kim's eccentricities are well documented. Like his father, he has a profound ], and has always travelled by private train when going on state visits to Russia and China. He also sometimes wears 10cm (four inches) lifts and platform shoes, some say to disguise his shortness (he is 160 cm, or five foot three inches tall).

	Stories that Kim has had four wives do not appear to be true: he is legally married to Kim Young-suk, a wife reportedly chosen for him by ], although they have been estranged for some years. He has a daughter, Kim Sul-song (born ]), by her. He has, however, had a succession of relationships with women. His eldest son, ], was born to one of these, Sung Hae-Rim, in ]. His most recent partner (described sometimes as a mistress, sometimes as a wife) was ], with whom he had another son, ], in ], and there is reported to be a second son, Kim Jong-un, as well. In August ], the Western media reported rumours that Ko had recently died at the age of 51 from cancer.

	==In satire==
	*Kim Jong-il is portrayed as a villainous ] in the comedy film '']'' (]). The creators, ] and ], creators of the hit series ], sent a gift reel to Kim. Trey Parker said he wanted Kim to be the enemy because he's a powerful leader like ].
	*] also parodies Kim on the sketch comedy show ].
	*] calls him Lil Kim in ].

	==Notes==
	<!-- Instructions for adding a footnote.
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	1) Assign your footnote a unique name, for example TheSun_Dec9.
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	#{{Note\|Formerly}} November 19, 2004. "North Korea's dear leader less dear"
	#{{Note\|NBA}} '']'' October 25, 2000. "Albright Reports Progress in Talks with North Korea"

	==See also==
	* ]

	==Further reading==
	* Michael Breen, ''Kim Jong-Il: North Korea's Dear Leader'', John Wiley and Sons (January, 2004), hardcover, 228 pages, ISBN 0470821310
	* Bradley Martin, ''Under The Loving Care Of The Fatherly Leader: North Korea And The Kim Dynasty'', St. Martins (October, 2004), hardcover, 868 pages, ISBN 0312322216
	* Kenji Fujimoto. ''I Was Kim Jong Il's Cook''.

	==External links==
	* – Foreign Languages Publishing House, Pyongyang DPR Korea (1998)
	* – Kim Jong-Il's childhood.
	* analysis by Kosuke Takahashi (November 20, 2004)
	*
	*

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Revision as of 04:46, 14 October 2005

edited by g