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.

Succession

By the 1990s, the DPRK was totally isolated from the outside world, except for limited contacts with China. Its economy was virtually bankrupt, crippled by huge expenditure on armaments, with an agricultural sector unable to feed the DPRK's population. The DPRK's media gave absolutely no hint of this, continuing to laud Kim as the greatest genius in Korean history to the end. Kim died suddenly of a heart attack on July 8, 1994 at 2 a.m. in Pyongyang, bequeathing the DPRK's mounting crisis to Kim Jong-il. His funeral in Pyongyang was attended by hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom were weeping and crying Kim's name during the funeral procession.

Related Topics:
1990s - July 8 - 1994 - Kim Jong-il

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kim Il-sung married twice. His first wife, Kim Chong-suk, bore him two sons and a daughter. Kim Jong-il, his eldest son, was born at Khabarovsk, although the DPRK now says he was born in the mountains of northern Korea. The other son died in a swimming accident. Kim Chong-suk died in childbirth in 1949 while giving birth to a stillborn baby. Kim married his second wife, Kim Song-ae, in 1962, and it is believed he had four children with her. One of these, Kim Pyong-il, was prominent in Korean politics until he was banished as ambassador to Hungary to avoid a power struggle after Kim Il-sung's death.

Related Topics:
Kim Jong-il - Khabarovsk - 1949 - 1962 - Kim Pyong-il - Hungary

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~