History UsefulNotes / TheRulersOfNorthKorea

Kim Jong-il's sister, born in 1946. She attended Kim Il-sung University, Moscow State University, and the Higher Party School. She is married to Jang Sung-taek, a senior government official, whom she met as a student. She was involved in the North Korean Foreign Office during TheSeventies, and currently heads the Light Industry department of the government. She is the highest-ranked woman in the DPRK and the Korean People's Army. She and Jang had a single daughter who lived in Paris. Their daughter committed suicide in 2008 after she was ordered to leave her boyfriend and return to the DPRK.

-->--'''Creator/ChristopherHitchens

-->--'''[[Creator/ChristopherHitchens]]

-->''The Kim is dead. Long live the Kim!''

Kim Il-Sung was born as Kim Sŏng-ju (he changed his name in 1935), on April 15 1912, in the small village of Mangyonbong-Guyok in the Pangrim Mountains, just outside Pyongyang, on [[ItWasADarkAndStormyNight a dark and stormy night]] . At the time of his birth, Korea was ruled by the Meiji Empire of Japan. His father was named Kim Hyong-jik, and his mother named Kang Pan-sok. Though his family was poor by international standards, they were, according to Kim, never impoverished, managing to stay "one step away" from poverty. Officially, his parents were Communist politicians and Korean independence activists, but Kim also claimed that his parents were devout Christians. This is not impossible as Communism and Religion (in spite of Karl Marx's original disdain for the latter) were not considered incompatible at the time[[note]]It would not be until after the Russian Revolution when religion would be relabeled the "opium of the masses" and entirely contradictory[[/note]], though it should be noted that the main source of information on Kim Il-sung's early years is Kim Il-sung himself. His family were genuine independence activists, though whether being Christian, communist or both is unknown. By 1920, they had made enough trouble for the Japanese that they were forced to flee to Manchuria, whilst Kim was eight years old. In 1926 his father died of third degree frostbite and bequeathed the young Kim Song-Ju with two FN Model 1900 pistols and a mission to fight the Japanese. The rest of the story is disputed: Officially, Kim founded the Down-With-Imperialism Union (considered to be the roots of the Korean Workers' Party) in 1926 at the age of 14, joined the Communist Party of China and united disparate anti-Japanese guerrillas at 19 (not the Communist Party of Korea, which had been expelled from the Comintern and purged), and wrote prolifically, making several policy predictions that later turned out to be spot on. Funny that. It is believed by some in South Korea due to the fact that it was the official ROK line into the 1980's that Kim Il-sung may have been another person entirely, and the individual who would later rule Korea was given his identity by the Soviets. Chinese sources and the opening of the Soviet Archives have repudiated this view completely. It seems more likely that Kim's achievements are exaggerated. His guerrilla career was, depending on the source, a stunning Alexandrian success (North Korea) or slightly-above average (everyone else). He did become the last Korean guerilla to hold any territory on the peninsula itself wit his raid on Pochonbo in 1939. However, this only served to make the Japanese angry and by 1941 the Japanese drove his forces over the Amur River to Khabarovsk in the SovietUnion, something his autobiography has conveniently forgotten.

-->-'''ChristopherHitchens'''

-->-'''ChristopherHitchens'''

Kim Il-Sung was born as Kim Sŏng-ju (he changed his name in 1935), on April 15 1912, in the small village of Mangyonbong-Guyok in the Pangrim Mountains, just outside Pyongyang, on ADarkAndStormyNight. At the time of his birth, Korea was ruled by the Meiji Empire of Japan. His father was named Kim Hyong-jik, and his mother named Kang Pan-sok. Though his family was poor by international standards, they were, according to Kim, never impoverished, managing to stay "one step away" from poverty. Officially, his parents were Communist politicians and Korean independence activists, but Kim also claimed that his parents were devout Christians. This is not impossible as Communism and Religion (in spite of Karl Marx's original disdain for the latter) were not considered incompatible at the time[[note]]It would not be until after the Russian Revolution when religion would be relabeled the "opium of the masses" and entirely contradictory[[/note]], though it should be noted that the main source of information on Kim Il-sung's early years is Kim Il-sung himself. His family were genuine independence activists, though whether being Christian, communist or both is unknown. By 1920, they had made enough trouble for the Japanese that they were forced to flee to Manchuria, whilst Kim was eight years old. In 1926 his father died of third degree frostbite and bequeathed the young Kim Song-Ju with two FN Model 1900 pistols and a mission to fight the Japanese. The rest of the story is disputed: Officially, Kim founded the Down-With-Imperialism Union (considered to be the roots of the Korean Workers' Party) in 1926 at the age of 14, joined the Communist Party of China and united disparate anti-Japanese guerrillas at 19 (not the Communist Party of Korea, which had been expelled from the Comintern and purged), and wrote prolifically, making several policy predictions that later turned out to be spot on. Funny that. It is believed by some in South Korea due to the fact that it was the official ROK line into the 1980's that Kim Il-sung may have been another person entirely, and the individual who would later rule Korea was given his identity by the Soviets. Chinese sources and the opening of the Soviet Archives have repudiated this view completely. It seems more likely that Kim's achievements are exaggerated. His guerrilla career was, depending on the source, a stunning Alexandrian success (North Korea) or slightly-above average (everyone else). He did become the last Korean guerilla to hold any territory on the peninsula itself wit his raid on Pochonbo in 1939. However, this only served to make the Japanese angry and by 1941 the Japanese drove his forces over the Amur River to Khabarovsk in the SovietUnion, something his autobiography has conveniently forgotten.

Apparently he had a relationship with a singer from the same troupe as his current wife came from. His father didn't approve of the relationship and broke it up about 10 years ago. According to rumor said singer was executed in August 2013, officially for illegal distribution of sex videos, but apparently because Kim Jong-un's wife was upset on that singer and does not want her to upstage her in North Korean politics.

The world is still struggling to decide what to make of KJU. On one hand, one of his first acts as Leader was to announce economic and social reforms, and a move towards a Chinese-style semi-market economy. On the other, Kim Jong-il's personal chef, Kenji Fujimoto, has described him as almost identical to the elder Kim in personality. One of his most recent moves as leader has been to provoke a serious crisis on the Korean peninsula, shutting down the Kaesong Industrial Region and threatening South Korea, Japan, and the USA with nuclear war. So whether Kim Jong-un will adapt the North Korean state for the modern age, democratize the North, double-down the brutal autocratic rule of his father and grandfather, or launch the second Korean War is still up in the air. Watch this space.

!!Kim Il-sung - Suryong (Great/Fatherly/Supreme Leader, General Secretary of the Workers Party of Korea, Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, and Eternal President of the Republic

!!Kim Jong-il - [[OverlyLongTitle The Dear Leader, Eternal General Secretary of the Korean Worker's Party and Eternal Chairman of the National Defence Commission]]

!!Kim Jong-un - The Dear Respected Leader

After Kim Jong-il's death, Marshal Ri Yong-ho, head of the Korean People's Army General Staff smoothed his way to power and oversaw the military handover of allegiance to the new Kim. In 2012 he was appointed ''dae wonsu'' - Grand Marshal. Grateful, Kim Jong-un announced that he would share power with the loyal Ri and reward him with vast sums of money. Oh no wait, we mean he had him executed. That's gratitude. He married a young newsreader and former singer called Ri Sol-ju, who is described as his "companion".

Apparently he had a relationship with a singer from the same troupe as his current wife came from. His father didn't approve of the relationship and broke it up about 10 years ago. That said singer was executed in August 2013, officially for illegal distribution of sex videos, but apparently because Kim Jong-un's wife was upset on that singer and does not want her to upstage her in North Korean politics.

!!Kim Il-sung - Great Leader and Eternal President of the Republic

Kim Il-Sung was born as Kim Sŏng-ju (he changed his name in 1935), on April 15 1912, in the small village of Mangyunbong in the Pangrim Mountains, just outside Pyongyang. At the time of his birth, Korea was ruled by the Meiji Empire of Japan. His father was named Kim Hyong-jik, and his mother named Kang Pan-sok. Though his family was poor by international standards, they were, according to Kim, never impoverished, managing to stay "one step away" from penury. Officially, his parents were Communist politicians and Korean independence activists, but Kim also claimed that his parents were devout Christians. This is not impossible as Communism and Religion (in spite of Karl Marx's original disdain for the latter) were not considered incompatible at the time[[note]]It would not be until after the Russian Revolution when religion would be relabeled the "opium of the masses" and entirely contradictory[[/note]], though it should be noted that the main source of information on Kim Il-sung's early years is Kim Il-sung himself. His family were genuine independence activists, though whether being Christian, communist or both is unknown. By 1920, they had made enough trouble for the Japanese that they were forced to flee to Manchuria, whilst Kim was eight years old. The rest of the story is disputed: Officially, Kim founded the Down-With-Imperialism Union (considered to be the roots of the Korean Workers' Party) in 1926 at the age of 14, joined the Communist Party of China and united disparate anti-Japanese guerrillas at 19 (not the Communist Party of Korea, which had been expelled from the Comintern and purged), and wrote prolifically, making several policy predictions that later turned out to be spot on. Funny that. It is believed by some that Kim Il-sung may have been another person entirely, and the individual who would later rule Korea was given his identity by the Soviets. Chinese sources have repudiated this view. It seems more likely that Kim's achievements are exaggerated, those of other dead individuals, or simply fabricated. His guerrilla career was, depending on the source, a stunning Alexandrian success (North Korea) or decidedly average (everyone else). Regardless, it is know that after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1935, Kim Il-sung and his guerrillas fled over the Amur River to Khabarovsk in the SovietUnion.

There, he was retrained as a guerilla by the Soviets. He gained the rank of Major in the Red Army, and remained one until the end of WWII. He married Kim Jong-suk in 1941, and she gave birth to Kim Jong-il that same year. The Soviets built Kim Il-sung's under-equipped guerrillas into a more serious force. An Air Force was founded, and by 1950, Korean pilots were training in the latest [=MiG=]-15 jet fighters at secret bases deep inside Russia. When Korea was divided into an American and Soviet zone of occupation in 1945, Kim was appointed by NKVD Director Lavrentiy Beriya to run the Soviet zone (and later all Korea). In 1950, he convinced Stalin to allow him to invade South Korea and re-unify the peninsula, beginning the KoreanWar. Initially successful, the UN under US General Douglas [=MacArthur=] counterattacked swiftly and effectively. By October, Pyongyang had fallen and Kim had been pushed to the Chinese border. However, with Chinese assistance, Kim was able to push the UN back to the 38th Parallel, and secure the armistice that would end the Korean War. He ruled a devastated land. The UN Air Forces under Curtis [=LeMay=][[note]]fittingly known as "Bombs Away [=LeMay=]"[[/note]] had been merciless in their aerial campaign, such that [=LeMay=] boasted that he grounded his bombers only when there were no targets left. Pyongyang was devastated. In other words, Kim Il-sung had a sterilized plot of land and a population emptied by war - "a laboratory, with controlled conditions, where he alone would be engineer of the human soul." (Hitchens)

Between the end of the Korean War and his death in 1994, Kim Il-sung would prove himself a particularly vicious architect. He began with a program of collectivization of industry, agriculture, and services, and five years after the end of the Korean War every single economic enterprise in North Korea was in the hands of the Korean Worker's Party government. "Foreign influences", such as Chinese troops, were removed from Korea at Kim's insistence. Arms production and heavy industry were to be the main industries, and North Korea retained a massive army on the Korean DMZ. The new national emblem showed a hydroelectric power station, a pylon, and Mt Paektu, the sacred mountain of Korea on the Chinese border. Despite this, his hold on power was shaky - both the USSR and China had wished to use NK as a puppet state, and Kim had no intention of allowing the throne to pass to anyone else. His purges were unique in that they did not even bother with the formalities of trial - even Mao and Stalin accorded their victims the dignity of a KangarooCourt. Additionally, he purged not only the real or suspected dissidents themselves, but their families ''over three generations''-all would be sent to brutal prison camps. Thus, people have been born within, their parents having been sent to them for things a ''grandparent'' supposedly did. Initially backing the Soviet Union during the Sino-Soviet split, he would later switch his allegiance to China as Russian power began to collapse. His personality cult influenced both {{Romania}}'s Ceaușescu (who used both him and Mao's Cultural Revolution as the basis for his "July Theses") and Albania's Hoxha. Despite a misguided attempt during TheSixties to replicate the success of the Viet Cong in South Korea, culminating in a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_House_Raid raid on the residence of the South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee]], as well as public predictions that the peninsula would be reunified by 1972, he did not launch any attempt to reconquer the South. In '72, he adopted a new constitution, entrenching his rule of the DPRK and anointing his son as successor.

By the 1990s, however, things were falling apart. Despite a nuclear program, North Korea could not feed its people, supply its army, power its industry, trade with anyone except Russia, Vietnam, Cuba, and China, or raise a stir internationally. Millions starved. Kim Il-sung died of a heart attack on July 8 1994. He was 82. He died ruler of a collapsing state, Great Leader of starving masses, and widely thought of as a military joke. But luckily for the KWP and the North Korean state, he had left a son - a reincarnation - to carry on his tyranny.

Kim Jong-il was born in a secret North Korean guerilla camp on the slopes of Mt Paektu, a mountain sacred to all Korea, in 1942. His birth was foretold by the swallows that nest on the slopes, a double rainbow was seen, and a new star appeared in the heavens. The local birds sung songs of praise in human voice. Or at least, that what the North Korean government would have you believe. In fact, Soviet records show that Kim Jong-il was born in the small Russian fishing village of Vyatskoye on the Amur river, just North East of the city of Khabarovsk, capital of Khabarovsk Krai. He was born Yuri Ursenovich Kim. At the age of four, he returned to Korea by a Soviet ship, docking at Unggi in Rason. Around this time, he was given the name Kim Jong-il. He had an elder brother, Shura Kim), but the elder Kim drowned in a terrible accident in a pool in Pyongyang. Some have suggested that it was [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident young Kim's doing]], though given that he was only 5 at the time, this does seem an early start to his later career in supervillainy. The official version is that he was educated in wartorn Pyongyang during the Korean War, but it is thought more likely that the son of the Great Leader would have been educated in China to ensure his safety. He would later attend Kim Il-Sung University in Pyongyang. He received English-language education in Malta as a guest of the island's Prime Minister, Dom Mintoff.

It seems a minor power struggle may have occurred after Kim Il-sung's death. Kim the Second did not make any public appearance until 1995. In late 1995, however, it seemed plain that Kim Jong-il was to be the ruler of North Korea, or at least the figurehead. In October, he took a massive parade of the Korean People's Army, and around this time several high-ranking generals were burnt at the stake in Rungnado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, in front of an audience of 150,000. He was unanimously elected (funny that) every five years. His economic policy was poor - as many as 3 million North Koreans perished in the Korean famine, known in North Korea as the "hardship period" or the "Arduous March". Eventually, Kim was forced to open North Korea up to a modicum of outside investment, building a "Sunshine Policy" with the South, and opening a small section of North Korea, the Kaesong Industrial Region, to foreign investment. He is believed to have suffered either another coup attempt or a serious bout of ill health in 2008, when he missed the Olympic Torch Relay in Pyongyang. Certainly a French neurosurgeon was flown to Pyongyang to treat him 2008. He apparently recovered. However, several months later, on December 17, 2011, he was travelling on his private train (like his father, he had a great fear of flying) when he was informed of serious flaws in the construction of the Nampho Dam, a flagship engineering project. In a fit of rage, he suffered a massive heart attack and died. He left the family business to...

Apparently he had a relationship with a singer from the same troupe as his current wife came from. His father didn't approve of the relationship and broke it about 10 years ago. That said singer was executed in August 2013, officially on illegal distribution of sex videos, but apparently because Kim Jong-un's wife was upset on that singer and does not want her to upstage her in North Korean politics.

Kim Il-sung's first wife and mother of Kim Jong-il and Kim Kyong-hui (see below). She was a seamstress and cook in the guerillas. Her official biography says that she and Kim Il-sung were a BattleCouple who fought side-by-side in various anti-Japanese actions. Others think it more likely she was simply a particularly attractive camp follower Kim Il-sung ordered to bed with him. Russian sources fondly remember her as a good cook, vivacious conversationalist, and a friendly host. She died in 1948, though the cause of death is unknown. The official version is that she died due to "hardships from her guerilla activities". Others report that she died of tuberculosis, and there are persistent rumors that she was shot.

Kim Jong-il's sister, born in 1946. She attended Kim Il-sung University, Moscow State University, and the Higher Party School. She is married to Jang Sung-taek, a senior government official, who she met as a student. She was involved in the North Korean Foreign Office during TheSeventies, and currently heads the Light Industry department of the government. She is the highest-ranked woman in the DPRK and the Korean People's Army. She and Jang had a single daughter who lived in Paris. Their daughter comitted suicide in 2008 after she was ordered to leave her boyfriend and return to the DPRK.

An Japanese-Korean woman who was born in 1952 as part of the ''zainichi'' Korean community, she was repatriated to North Korea in the 1960s. Her father worked in a sewing factory for the Imperial Japanese Army. She joined a dance troupe in Pyongyang, where she caught the eye of Kim Jong-il. Her real name is not know to most North Koreans, due to her bad ''songbun'' status. Under the ascribed caste system of North Korea, those who have Japanese blood or whose ancestors collaborated with the Japanese are considered to be the worst of the worst - ''untermenschen''. As such, her real name is a state secret, and she is simply known by the titles above. The latest propaganda film about her life gave her the name "Lee Eun-mi. She died of breast cancer in Paris in 2004.

After Kim Jong-il's death, Marshal Ri Yong-ho, head of the Korean People's Army General Staff smoothed his way to power and oversaw the military handover of allegiance to the new Kim. In 2012 he was appointed ''dae wonsu'' - Grand Marshal. Grateful, Kim Jong-un announced that he would share power with the loyal Ri and reward him with vast sums of money. Oh no wait, we mean he had him executed. That's gratitude. He married a young newsreader and former singer called Ri Sol-ju, who is described as his "companion". Apparently he had a relationship with a singer from the same troupe as his current wife came from. His father didn't approve of the relationship and broke it about 10 years ago. That said singer was executed in August 2013, officially on illegal distribution of sex videos, but apparently because Kim Jong-un's wife was upset on that singer and does not want her to upstage her in North Korean politics.

After Kim Jong-il's death, Marshal Ri Yong-ho, head of the Korean People's Army General Staff smoothed his way to power and oversaw the military handover of allegiance to the new Kim. In 2012 he was appointed ''dae wonsu'' - Grand Marshal. Grateful, Kim Jong-un announced that he would share power with the loyal Ri and reward him with vast sums of money. Oh no wait, we mean he had him executed. That's gratitude. He married a young newsreader called Ri Sol-ju, who is described as his "companion".

Since his ascension, Kim Jong-il built up a large personality cult around her, touting her as one of the "Three Great Generals of ''Songun'' Korea". She is regularly commemorated and mentioned by state media.

Kim Jong-un's elder brothers. Kim Jong-nam was considered to be the best contender to succeed Kim Jong-il as leader of North Korea, but blew his chances by being caught trying to enter Japan on a forged passport to go to Disneyland. He is believed to live in Macau, China, though he returned for his father's funeral in 2011. Kim Jong-chul was considered too "weak" and "effeminate" by his father. It is unknown if he was simply over-sensitive, possibly homosexual (AndThatsTerrible in North Korea) or (gasp) concerned about the North Korean people.

It seems a minor power struggle may have occurred after Kim Il-sung's death. Kim the Second did not make any public appearance until 1995. In late 1995, however, it seemed plain that Kim Jong-il was to be the ruler of North Korea, or at least the figurehead. In October, he took a massive parade of the Korean People's Army, and around this time several high-ranking generals were burnt at the stake in Rungnado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, in front of an audience of 150,000. He was unanimously elected (funny that) every five years. His economic policy was poor - as many as 3 million North Koreans perished in the Korean famine, known in North Korea as the "hardship period" or the "Arduous March". Eventually, Kim was forced to open North Korea up to a modicum of outside investment, building a "Sunshine Policy" with the South, and opening a small section of North Korea, the Kaesong Industrial Region, to foreign investment. He is believed to have suffered either another coup attempt or a serious bout of ill health in 2008, when he missed the Olympic Torch Relay in Pyongyang. Certainly a French neurosurgeon was flown to Pyongyang to treat him 2008. He apparently recovered. However, several months later, on December 17 2011, he was travelling on his private train (like his father, he had a great fear of flying) when he was informed of serious flaws in the construction of the Nampho Dam, a flagship engineering project. In a fit of rage, he suffered a massive heart attack and died. He left the family business to...

Kim Jong-un is something of an unknown quantity. At 30, he is the youngest head of state in the world. He was born in 1983 or 1984 (the irony if he was born on [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour the second date]] is presumably lost on the North Koreans), and attended school in Bern and Koeniz in Switzerland under the name Pak-un. Apparently he was awkward around girls, good at sports (though evidently not fitness...), and had a deep love of basketball. However, his brother Kim Jong-chul also attended school at the same. He returned to North Korea in the early 2000s and attended the officer training academy at Kim Il-sung university. He was initially not expected to succeed Kim Jong-il, but after his elder brother and ''heir apparent'' Kim Jong-nam was caught trying to enter Japan with a fake passport in order to go to Disneyland Tokyo (yes, really), he shot to prominence in his father's affections.

The world is still struggling to decide what to make of KJU. On one hand, one of his first acts as Leader was to announce economic and social reforms, and a move towards a Chinese-style semi-market economy. On the other, Kim Jong-il's personal chef, Kenji Fujimoto as described him as almost identical to the elder Kim in personality. One of his most recent moves as leader has been to provoke a serious crisis on the Korean peninsula, shutting down the Kaesong Industrial Region and threatening South Korea, Japan, and the USA with nuclear war. So whether Kim Jong-un will adapt the North Korean state for the modern age, democratize the North, double-down the brutal autocratic rule of his father and grandfather, or launch the second Korean War is still up in the air. Watch this space.

Brother of Kim Il-sung, uncle to Kim Jong-il, and great uncle of Kim Jong-un, Kim Yong-ju is eight years his brother's junior. He studied in Moscow, and was a keen philosopher. His Russianized ways and more classical view of Marxism earned him the ire of his brother, and his political allies were removed, falling out of favor. Eventually, Kim Il-sung is believed to have physically attacked him. He was sidelined in favor of Kim Jong-il. He spent the 1980s under house arrest, until Kim Jong-il brought him back in 1993 to serve as honorary Vice-President of the DPRK, and then honorary vice-President of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, a post he holds to this day. He is 93 years old.

Kim Il-Sung was born as Kim Sŏng-ju (he changed his name in 1935), on April 15 1912, in the small village of Mangyunbong in the Pangrim Mountains, just outside Pyongyang. At the time of his birth, Korea was ruled by the Meiji Empire of Japan. His father was named Kim Hyong-jik, and his mother named Kang Pan-sok. Though his family was poor by international standards, they were, according to Kim, never impoverished, managing to stay "one step away" from penury. Officially, his parents were Communist politicians and Korean independence activists, but Kim also claimed that his parents were devout Christians. This is not impossible as Communism and Religion (in spite of Karl Marx's original disdain for the latter) were not considered incompatible at the time[[note]]It would not be until after the Russian Revolution when religion would be relabeled the "opium of the masses" and entirely contradictory[[/note]], though it should be noted that the main source of information on Kim Il-sung's early years is Kim Il-sung himself. His family were genuine independence activists, though whether communist or missionary is unknown. By 1920, they had made enough trouble for the Japanese that they were forced to flee to Manchuria, whilst Kim was eight years old. The rest of the story is disputed: Officially, Kim founded the Down-With-Imperialism Union (considered to be the roots of the Korean Workers' Party) in 1926 at the age of 14, joined the Communist Party of China and united disparate anti-Japanese guerrillas at 19 (not the Communist Party of Korea, which had been expelled from the Comintern and purged), and wrote prolifically, making several policy predictions that later turned out to be spot on. Funny that. It is believed by some that Kim Il-sung may have been another person entirely, and the individual who would later rule Korea was given his identity by the Soviets. Chinese sources have repudiated this view. It seems more likely that Kim's achievements are exaggerated, those of other, dead, individuals, or simply fabricated. His guerrilla career was, depending on the source, a stunning Alexandrian success (North Korea) or decidedly average (everyone else). Regardless, it is know that after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1935, Kim Il-sung and his guerrillas fled over the Amur River to Khabarovsk in the SovietUnion.

There, he was retrained as a guerilla by the Soviets. He gained the rank of Major in the Red Army, and remained one until the end of WWII. He married Kim Jong-suk in 1941, and she gave birth to Kim Jong-il that same year. The Soviets built Kim Il-sung's under-equipped guerrillas into a more serious force. An Air Force was founded, and by 1950, Korean pilots were training in the latest [=MiG=]-15 jet fighters at secret bases deep inside Russia. When Korea was divided into an American and Soviet zone of occupation in 1945, Kim was appointed by NKVD Director Lavrentiy Beriya to run the Soviet zone (and later all Korea). In 1950, he convinced Stalin to allow him to invade South Korea and re-unify the peninsula, beginning the KoreanWar. Initially successful, the UN under Douglas [=MacArthur=] counterattacked swiftly and effectively. By October, Pyongyang had fallen and Kim had been pushed to the Chinese border. However, with Chinese assistance, Kim was able to push the UN back to the 38th Parallel, and secure the armistice that would end the Korean War. He ruled a devastated land. The UN Air Forces under Curtis [=LeMay=][[note]]fittingly known as "Bombs Away [=LeMay=]"[[/note]] had been merciless in their aerial campaign, such that [=LeMay=] boasted that he grounded his bombers only when there were no targets left. Pyongyang was devastated. In other words, Kim Il-sung had a sterilized plot of land and a population emptied by war - "a laboratory, with controlled conditions, where he alone would be engineer of the human soul." (Hitchens)

Between the end of the Korean War and his death in 1994, Kim Il-sung would prove himself a particularly vicious architect. He began with a program of collectivization of industry, agriculture, and services, and five years after the end of the Korean War every single economic enterprise in North Korea was in the hands of the Korean Worker's Party government. "Foreign influences", such as Chinese troops, were removed from Korea at Kim's insistence. Arms production and heavy industry were to be the main industries, and North Korea retained a massive army on the Korean DMZ. The new national emblem showed a hydroelectric power station, a pylon, and Mt Paektu, the sacred mountain of Korea on the Chinese border. Despite this, his hold on power was shaky - both the USSR and China had wished to use NK as a puppet state, and Kim had no intention of allowing the throne to pass to anyone else. His purges were unique in that they did not even bother with the formalities of trial - even Mao and Stalin accorded their victims the dignity of a KangarooCourt. Initially backing the Soviet Union during the Sino-Soviet split, he would later switch his allegiance to China as Russian power began to collapse. His personality cult influenced both {{Romania}}'s Ceaușescu (who used both him and Mao's Cultural Revolution as the basis for his "July Theses") and Albania's Hoxha. Despite a misguided attempt during TheSixties to replicate the success of the Viet Cong in South Korea, culiminating in a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_House_Raid raid on the residence of the South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee]], as well as public predictions that the peninsula would be reunified by 1972, he did not launch any attempt to reconquer the South. In '72, he adopted a new constitution, entrenching his rule of the DPRK and anointing his son as successor.

Kim Jong-il was born in a secret North Korean guerilla camp on the slopes of Mt Paektu, a mountain sacred to all Korea, in 1942. His birth was foretold by the swallows that nest on the slopes, a double rainbow was seen, and a new star appeared in the heavens. The local birds sung songs of praise in human voice. Or at least, that what the North Korean government would have you believe. In fact, Soviet records show that Kim Jong-il was born in the small Russian fishing village of Vyatskoye on the Amur river, just North East of the city of Khabarovsk, capital of Khabarovsk Krai. He was born Yuri Ursenovich Kim. At the age of four, he returned to Korea by a Soviet ship, docking at Unggi in Rason. Around this time, he was given the name Kim Jong-il. He had an elder brother, Shura Kim), but the elder Kim drowned in a terrible accident in a pool in Pyongyang. Some have suggested that it was [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident young Kim's doing]], though given that he was only 5 at the time, this does seem an early start to his later career in supervillainy. The official version is that he was educated in wartorn Pyongyang during the Korean War, but it is thought more likely that the son of the Great Leader would have been educated in China to ensure his safety. He would later attend Kim Il-sung university in Pyongyang. He received English-language education in Malta as a guest of the island's Prime Minister, Dom Mintoff.

-->-'''ChristopherHitchens''

-->-'''ChristopherHitchens''

Between the end of the Korean War and his death in 1994, Kim Il-sung would prove himself a particularly vicious architect. He began with a program of collectivization of industry, agriculture, and services, and five years after the end of the Korean War every single economic enterprise in North Korea was in the hands of the Korean Worker's Party government. "Foreign influences", such as Chinese troops, were removed from Korea at Kim's insistence. Arms production and heavy industry were to be the main industries, and North Korea retained a massive army on the Korean DMZ. The new national emblem showed a hydroelectric power station, a pylon, and Mt Paektu, the sacred mountain of Korea on the Chinese border. Despite this, his hold on power was shaky - both the USSR and China had wished to use NK as a puppet state, and Kim had no intention of allowing the throne to pass to anyone else. His purges were unique in that they did not even bother with the formalities of trial - even Mao and Stalin accorded their victims the dignity of a KangarooCourt. Initially backing the Soviet Union during the Sino-Soviet split, he would later switch his allegiance to China as Russian power began to collapse. His personality cult influenced both Romania's Ceaucescu and Albania's Hoxha. Despite a misguided attempt during TheSixties to replicate the success of the Viet Cong in South Korea, culiminating in a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_House_Raid raid on the residence of the South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee]], as well as public predictions that the peninsula would be reunified by 1972, he did not launch any attempt to reconquer the South. In '72, he adopted a new constitution, entrenching his rule of the DPRK and anointing his son as successor.

After a number of minor Party posts (including head of the Movie and Arts Department[[note]]Where he infamously kidnapped South Korean movie director Shin Sang-ok and convinced him at gunpoint to make movies for North Korea[[/note]], Kim Il-sung decided his son was ready to rule. By 1980, he was given senior posts in the Politburo, the Military Commission and the party Secretariat. A personality cult was already being formed for him - he was referred to as "Dear Leader", "Respected Commander", "Great Father", and "Fearless Leader". In 1991, he was named Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, thus, in essence, being given supreme authority over North Korea in all but name. According to defector Hwang Jang-yop, Kim was even more autocratic and tyrannical than his father. In 1983, he ordered the Rangoon bombing, which caused the death of four South Korean cabinet ministers. It was around this time he made the only speech of his that has ever been [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v02nlU_ZATk televised in North Korea.]][[note]]He said: "Glory to the heroic soldiers of the Korean People's Army!"[[/note]]

-->''

After Kim Jong-il's death, Marshal Ri Yong-ho, head of the Korean People's Army General Staff smoothed his way to power and oversaw the military handover of allegiance to the new Kim. In 2012 he was appointed ''dae wonsu'' - Grand Marshal. Grateful, Kim Jong-un announced that he would share power with the loyal Ri and reward him with vast sums of money. Oh no wait, we mean he he had him executed. That's gratitude. He married a young newsreader called Ri Sol-ju, who is described as his "companion".

Kim Il-Sung was born as Kim Sŏng-ju (he changed his name in 1935), on April 15 1912, in the small village of Mangyunbong in the Pangrim Mountains, just outside Pyongyang. At the time of his birth, Korea was ruled by the Meiji Empire of Japan. His father was named Kim Hyong-jik, and his mother named Kang Pan-sok. Though his family was poor by international standards, they were, according to Kim, never impoverished, managing to stay "one step away" from penury. Officially, his parents were Communist politicians and Korean independence activists, but Kim also claimed that his parents were devout Christians. This is not impossible as Communism and Religion (in spite of Karl Marx's original disdain for the latter) were not considered incompatible at the time[[note]]It would not be until after the Russian Revolution when religion would be relabeled the "opium of the masses" and entirely contradictory[[/note]], though it should be noted that the main source of information on Kim Il-sung's early years is Kim Il-sung himself. His family were genuine independence activists, though whether communist or missionary is unknown. By 1920, they had made enough trouble for the Japanese that they were forced to flee to Manchuria, whilst Kim was eight years old. The rest of the story is disputed: Officially, Kim founded the Down-With-Imperialism Union (considered to be the roots of the Korean Workers' Party) in 1926 at the age of 14, joined the Communist Party of China and united disparate anti-Japanese guerillas at 19 (not the Communist Party of Korea, which had been expelled from the Comintern and purged), and wrote prolifically, making several policy predictions that later turned out to be spot on. Funny that. It is believed by some that Kim Il-sung may have been another person entirely, and the individual who would later rule Korea was given his identity by the Soviets. Chinese sources have repudiated this view. It seems more likely that Kim's achievements are exaggerated, those of other, dead, individuals, or simply fabricated. His guerilla career was, depending on the source, a stunning Alexandrian success (North Korea) or decidedly average (everyone else). Regardless, it is know that after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1935, Kim Il-sung and his guerillas fled over the Amur River to Khabarovsk in the SovietUnion.

There, he was retrained as a guerilla by the Soviets. He gained the rank of Major in the Red Army, and remained one until the end of WWII. He married Kim Jong-suk in 1941, and she gave birth to Kim Jong-il that same year. The Soviets built Kim Il-sung's under-equipped guerillas into a more serious force. An Air Force was founded, and by 1950, Korean pilots were training in the latest [=MiG=]-15 jet fighters at secret bases deep inside Russia. When Korea was divided into an American and Soviet zone of occupation in 1945, Kim was appointed by NKVD Director Lavrentiy Beriya to run the Soviet zone (and later all Korea). In 1950, he convinced Stalin to allow him to invade South Korea and re-unify the peninsula, beginning the KoreanWar. Initially successful, the UN under Douglas [=MacArthur=] counterattacked swiftly and effectively. By October, Pyongyang had fallen and Kim had been pushed to the Chinese border. However, with Chinese assistance, Kim was able to push the UN back to the 38th Parallel, and secure the armistice that would end the Korean War. He ruled a devastated land. The UN Air Forces under Curtis [=LeMay=][[note]]fittingly known as "Bombs Away [=LeMay=]"[[/note]] had been merciless in their aerial campaign, such that [=LeMay=] boasted that he grounded his bombers only when there were no targets left. Pyongyang was devastated. In other words, Kim Il-sung had a sterilized plot of land and a population emptied by war - "a laboratory, with controlled conditions, where he alone would be engineer of the human soul." (Hitchens)

After a number of minor Party posts (including head of the Movie and Arts Department), Kim Il-sung decided his son was ready to rule. By 1980, he was given senior posts in the Politburo, the Military Commission and the party Secretariat. A personality cult was already being formed for him - he was referred to as "Dear Leader", "Respected Commander", "Great Father", and "Fearless Leader". In 1991, he was named Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, thus, in essence, being given supreme authority over North Korea in all but name. According to defector Hwang Jang-yop, Kim was even more autocratic and tyrannical than his father. In 1983, he ordered the Rangoon bombing, which caused the death of four South Korean cabinet ministers. It was around this time he made the only speech of his that has ever been [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v02nlU_ZATk televised in North Korea.]][[note]]He said: "Glory to the heroic soldiers of the Korean People's Army!"[[/note]]

Kim Il-Sung was born as Kim Sŏng-ju (he changed his name in 1935), on April 15 1912, in the small village of Mangyunbong in the Pangrim Mountains, just outside Pyongyang. At the time of his birth, Korea was ruled by the Meiji Empire of Japan. His father was named Kim Hyong-jik, and his mother named Kang Pan-sok. Though his family was poor by international standards, they were, according to Kim, never impoverished, managing to stay "one step away" from penury. Officially, his parents were Communist politicians and Korean independence activists, but Kim also claimed that his parents were devout Christians. This is not impossible, though it should be noted that the main source of information on Kim Il-sung's early years is Kim Il-sung himself. However, Communism and Christianity are not incompatible, especially among superstitious rural Koreans at the turn of the century. His family were genuine independence activists, though whether communist or missionary is unknown. By 1920, they had made enough trouble for the Japanese that they were forced to flee to Manchuria, whilst Kim was eight years old. The rest of the story is disputed: Officially, Kim founded the Down-With-Imperialism Union (considered to be the roots of the Korean Workers' Party) in 1926 at the age of 14, joined the Communist Party of China and united disparate anti-Japanese guerillas at 19 (not the Communist Party of Korea, which had been expelled from the Comintern and purged), and wrote prolifically, making several policy predictions that later turned out to be spot on. Funny that. It is believed by some that Kim Il-sung may have been another person entirely, and the individual who would later rule Korea was given his identity by the Soviet KGB. Chinese sources have repudiated this view. It seems more likely that Kim's achievements are exaggerated, those of other, dead, individuals, or simply fabricated. His guerilla career was, depending on the source, a stunning Alexandrian success (North Korea) or decidedly average (everyone else). Regardless, it is know that after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1935, Kim Il-sung and his guerillas fled over the Amur River to Khabarovsk in the SovietUnion.

There, he was retrained as a guerilla by the Soviets. He gained the rank of Major in the Red Army, and remained one until the end of WWII. He married Kim Jong-suk in 1941, and she gave birth to Kim Jong-il that same year. The Soviets built Kim Il-sung's under-equipped guerillas into a more serious force. An Air Force was founded, and by 1950, Korean pilots were training in the latest [=MiG=]-15 jet fighters at secret bases deep inside Russia. When Korea was divided into an American and Soviet zone of occupation in 1945, Kim was appointed be the psychotic Soviet apparatichik Lavrenty Beriya to run the Soviet zone (and later all Korea). In 1950, he convinced Stalin to allow him to invade South Korea and re-unify the peninsula, beginning the KoreanWar. Initially successful, the UN under Douglas [=MacArthur=] counterattacked swiftly and effectively. By October, Pyongyang had fallen and Kim had been pushed to the Chinese border. However, with Chinese assistance, Kim was able to push the UN back to the 38th Parallel, and secure the armistice that would end the Korean War. He ruled a devastated land. The UN Air Forces under Curtis [=LeMay=] had been merciless in their aerial campaign, he boasted that he grounded his bombers only where there were no targets left. Pyongyang was devastated. In other words, Kim Il-sung had a sterilized plot of land and a population emptied by war - "a laboratory, with controlled conditions, where he alone would be engineer of the human soul." (Hitchens)

There, he was retrained as a guerilla by the Soviets. He gained the rank of Major in the Red Army, and remained one until the end of WWII. He married Kim Jong-suk in 1941, and she gave birth to Kim Jong-il that same year. The Soviet's built Kim Il-sung's underequipped guerillas into a more serious force. An Air Force was founded, and by 1950, Korean pilots were training in the latest [=Mig=]-15 jet fighters at secret bases deep inside Russia. When Korea was divided into an American and Soviet zone of occupation in 1945, Kim was appointed be the psychotic Soviet apparatichik Lavrenty Beriya to run the Soviet zone (and later all Korea). In 1950, he convinced Stalin to allow him to invade South Korea and re-unify the peninsula, beginning the KoreanWar. Initially successful, the UN under Douglas [=MacArthur=] counterattacked swiftly and effectively. By October, Pyongyang had fallen and Kim had been pushed to the Chinese border. However, with Chinese assistance, Kim was able to push the UN back to the 38th Parallel, and secure the armistice that would end the Korean War. He ruled a devastated land. The UN Air Forces under Curtis [=LeMay=] had been merciless in their aerial campaign, he boasted that he grounded his bombers only where there were no targets left. Pyongyang was devastated. In other words, Kim Il-sung had a sterilized plot of land and a population emptied by war - "a laboratory, with controlled conditions, where he alone would be engineer of the human soul." (Hitchens)

There, he was retrained as a guerilla by the Soviets. Here, he gained the rank of Major in the Red Army, and remained one until the end of WWII. He married Kim Jong-suk in 1941, and she gave birth to Kim Jong-il that same year. The Soviet's built Kim Il-sung's underequipped guerillas into a more serious force. An Air Force was founded, and by 1950, Korean pilots were training in the latest [=Mig=]-15 jet fighters at secret bases deep inside Russia. When Korea was divided into an American and Soviet zone of occupation in 1945, Kim was appointed be the psychotic Soviet apparatichik Lavrenty Beriya to run the Soviet zone (and later all Korea). In 1950, he convinced Stalin to allow him to invade South Korea and re-unify the peninsula, beginning the KoreanWar. Initially successful, the UN under Douglas [=MacArthur=] counterattacked swiftly and effectively. By October, Pyongyang had fallen and Kim had been pushed to the Chinese border. However, with Chinese assistance, Kim was able to push the UN back to the 38th Parallel, and secure the armistice that would end the Korean War. He ruled a devastated land. The UN Air Forces under Curtis [=LeMay=] had been merciless in their aerial campaign, he boasted that he grounded his bombers only where there were no targets left. Pyongyang was devastated. In other words, Kim Il-sung had a sterilized plot of land and a population emptied by war - "a laboratory, with controlled conditions, where he alone would be engineer of the human soul." (Hitchens)

The Russians sent him to Khabarovsk, where he was retrained as a guerilla by the Soviets. Here, he gained the rank of Major in the Red Army, and remained one until the end of WWII. He married Kim Jong-suk in 1941, and she gave birth to Kim Jong-il that same year. The Soviet's built Kim Il-sung's underequipped guerillas into a more serious force. An Air Force was founded, and by 1950, Korean pilots were training in the latest [=Mig=]-15 jet fighters at secret bases deep inside Russia. When Korea was divided into an American and Soviet zone of occupation in 1945, Kim was appointed be the psychotic Soviet apparatichik Lavrenty Beriya to run the Soviet zone (and later all Korea). In 1950, he convinced Stalin to allow him to invade South Korea and re-unify the peninsula, beginning the KoreanWar. Initially successful, the UN under Douglas [=MacArthur=] counterattacked swiftly and effectively. By October, Pyongyang had fallen and Kim had been pushed to the Chinese border. However, with Chinese assistance, Kim was able to push the UN back to the 38th Parallel, and secure the armistice that would end the Korean War. He ruled a devastated land. The UN Air Forces under Curtis [=LeMay=] had been merciless in their aerial campaign, he boasted that he grounded his bombers only where there were no targets left. Pyongyang was devastated. In other words, Kim Il-sung had a sterilized plot of land and a population emptied by war - "a laboratory, with controlled conditions, where he alone would be engineer of the human soul." (Hitchens)