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.

Leader of the DPRK

By 1948 it was apparent that due to political and ideological polarization between the two emerging Korean regimes the immediate re-unification of Korea would not be possible. The Soviets responded by appointing Kim Prime Minister of the new Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), forming a new country that would henceforth be commonly known as "North Korea." Following the standard pattern in the Soviet allies, the Communist Party "merged" with several smaller groups to form the North Korean Workers' Party which, in 1949, merged with its southern counterpart to become the Korean Workers Party (KWP) with Kim as party Chairman.

Related Topics:
1948 - Democratic People's Republic of Korea - Korean Workers Party

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In June 1950, the DPRK launched an attack on the anti-Communist, capitalist Republic of Korea (see Korean War) with the stated intent the "liberation" of Southern Korea and the unification of the country under a single socialist government. At the time, leaders of the United States and its allies believed that Joseph Stalin had ordered this attack. They assumed the existence of a monolithic world communist movement directed from the Kremlin. Now it appears more likely that the decision was Kim's own initiative, in which the Soviets and the People's Republic of China acquiesced only reluctantly. DPRK forces captured Seoul and occupied most of the South, but were soon driven back by United Nations forces led by the U.S. By October the U.N. forces had retaken Seoul and captured Pyongyang, and Kim and his government were forced to flee to China.

Related Topics:
1950 - Republic of Korea - Korean War - Joseph Stalin - The Kremlin - People's Republic of China - United Nations

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But in November, Chinese forces entered the war and threw the U.N. forces back, retaking Pyongyang in December and Seoul in January 1951. In March U.N. forces retook Seoul, and the front was stabilised along what eventually became the permanent "Armistice Line" of 1953. Following in the wake of the Chinese forces, Kim was able to re-establish his rule north of this line.

Related Topics:
1951 - 1953

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