- Born
- Died
- Birth nameYuri Irsenovich Kim
- Height5′ 3″ (1.60 m)
- Kim Jong-IL (born Yuri Irsenovich Kim was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim Il-sung, the first Supreme Leader, until his own death in 2011, when he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-UN.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Bonitao
- Kim Jong Il spent his school years in the GDR and China. He then began studying economics at Kim Il Sung University in the North Korean capital P''yong-yang (Pyongyang). In 1964 he became a member of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers' Party and embarked on a political career. Among other things, he worked as private secretary for his father, the communist dictator Kim Il Sung. From 1973, Kim Jong Il held the post of Secretary for Propaganda and Organization in the Central Committee. Two years later he joined the Politburo. In 1980 he was appointed to the Central Military Committee and the Politburo Board. In the same year he was appointed as his father's successor.
Ten years later, Kim Jong Il chaired the National Defense Committee as First Deputy. In 1991 he succeeded his father as commander-in-chief of the army, and the following year he was appointed marshal. Also in 1992, Kim Jong Il was appointed official leader of the country. He then became chairman of the National Defense Committee in 1993. In 1994, Kim Jong Il's father died. His son took over the duties of head of state, but remained in his official position only as Commander-in-Chief of the People's Army and Chairman of the National Defense Committee. During this time, the North Korean nuclear weapons program was launched. In 1996, a nationwide hunger catastrophe broke out, which was contained with the help of former war enemy South Korea.
Beginning in 1997, Kim Jong Il agreed to peace talks with South Korea that were broken off in 1972. After the official mourning period of three years, during which the office of state and party leader remained effectively vacant, Kim Jong Il became formal general secretary of the Korean Workers' Party. In 1998, Kim Jong Il officially expressed his willingness to establish peaceful relations with South Korea. The peace declarations went so far as to enter into a confederation with South Korea in the sense of reunification. That same year, Kim Jong Il was confirmed as commander-in-chief of the army, leader of the National Defense Committee and general secretary of the party. The Supreme People's Assembly declared the chairmanship of the National Defense Committee to be the highest state office, thereby making Kim Jong Il president. He was appointed to this office for life.
In 2000, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung arrived in P''yong-yang for a meeting with Kim Jong Il. This ushered in a new political era between North and South Korea, which had still not concluded a peace treaty with each other after the end of the Korean War in 1953. The meeting also meant an easing of tensions on the level of ideological disputes. The meeting resulted in an agreement on possible reunification and interim cooperation in economic and cultural areas. As a result of the détente, numerous Western countries established diplomatic relations with North Korea. But in 2002 the détente policy suffered severe setbacks. Kim Jong Il activated a secret nuclear program and terminated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty citing the US threat. US President George Bush counts North Korea as part of the so-called axis of evil.
Kim Jong Il also concentrated armed units in demilitarized zones. The North Korean dictator continued to attract global attention by reactivating the Yongbyon reactor with fuel rods and working on a reprocessing plant for weapons-grade plutonium. On February 10, 2005, the dictator told the world that North Korea had the atomic bomb for self-defense and at the same time announced North Korea's withdrawal from the "Six Talks". China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the USA had tried to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear program through economic commitments. At the end of October 2005, a spectacular summit meeting took place between the North Korean head of government and China's President Jintao: In Pyongyang, both tried to initiate a policy of détente.
In 2006, North Korea had the world's fourth largest weapons arsenal with over 1,000 missiles of various ranges: in 2006 alone, Pyongyang is said to have sold around 120 million euros in weapons deliveries. These were mainly "Scud" missiles, which went to Iran, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Vietnam and Sudan, among others.
Kim Jong Il died on December 17, 2011 while traveling by train in North Korea.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth
- SpousesYoung-Sook Kim(1974 - December 17, 2011) (his death, 2 children)Il-Chon Hong(1966 - 1969) (divorced, 1 child)
- Children
- Parents
- RelativesHan-Sol Kim(Grandchild)
- Eccentric personality
- Among his favorite movies were: Friday the 13th (1980), Freddy vs. Jason (2003), First Blood (1982), The Godfather (1972), Gone with the Wind (1939) and Amistad (1997).
- Was portrayed as a villainous marionette in the comedy film Team America: World Police (2004). The creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone sent a gift reel to Kim.
- His favorite actor was Sean Connery. His favorite actress was Elizabeth Taylor.
- National leader of North Korea (officially styled "Supreme Leader of North Korea") from 1994 until his death in 2011.
- Propaganda claims that Kim was born one year later, in 1942 on Mount Baekdu, with a double rainbow and a bright star in the sky heralding his arrival. A halo was supposedly seen over the mountain and a swallow foretold his birth.
- We oppose the reactionary policies of the U.S. government but we do not oppose the American people. We want to have many good friends in the United States.
- The liquidation of colonialism is a trend of the times which no force can hold back.
- The revolution is carried out by means of one's thought, not through one's family background.
- National defense is the sacred duty of the young and all other people.
- A man who dreads trials and difficulties cannot become a revolutionary. If he is to become a revolutionary with an indomitable fighting spirit, he must be tempered in the arduous struggle from his youth. As the saying goes, early training means more than late earning.
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