Kim Il-sung

Kim Il-sung (April 15, 1912–July 8, 1994) was a Korean Communist politician and the ruler of North Korea from 1948 until his death. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to 1994, but the real source of his power was his post as General Secretary of the Korean Workers' Party. He is noted for the extent of his personality cult: North Korea officially refers to him as the Great Leader and he is enshrined in the constitution as the country's "eternal President." His birthday is a public holiday in North Korea.

In power

Reinstalled as leader of the DPRK, Kim used the opportunity to purge his political rivals, particularly the former southern Korean Communist leadership, and embarked on the reconstruction of the country, which had been devastated by the war. He launched a five-year national economic plan to establish a Soviet-style command economy, with all industry state owned and all agriculture collectivised. The economy was based on heavy industry, and particularly arms production. The DPRK retained huge armed forces to defend the 1953 ceasefire line.

Related Topics:
Command economy - Collectivised - 1953

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During the 1950s, Kim was seen as an orthodox Communist leader, loyal to and ultimately under the control of the Soviet Union. When the Sino-Soviet split developed in the 1960s, however, Kim used the opportunity to become increasingly independent. He sided with the Chinese in the early 1960s, but never severed his relations with the Soviets. When the Cultural Revolution broke out in China after 1966, Kim veered back to the Soviet side. At the same time he developed a personality cult even greater than that of Mao Zedong, in which Kim was declared to be the "Great Leader." Kim developed the policy and ideology of Juche or self-reliance, which saw the DPRK become increasingly independent from the rest of the world.

Related Topics:
1950s - Sino-Soviet split - 1960s - Cultural Revolution - 1966 - Personality cult - Mao Zedong - Juche

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A new constitution was proclaimed in December 1972, under which Kim became President of the DPRK. By this time he had decided that his son Kim Jong-il would succeed him, and increasingly delegated the running of the government to him. The real power of the Kim family rested on the loyalty of the army, which was guaranteed both by Kim Il-Sung's revolutionary prestige and the support of the veteran defence minister, Oh Jin-wu. At the Sixth Party Congress in October 1980, Kim publicly designated his son as his successor.

Related Topics:
1972 - Kim Jong-il - Oh Jin-wu - 1980

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