Kim Jong-il (also written as Kim Jong Il, Korean: 김정일; born 16 February 1941; official biographies state 16 February 1942) is the paramount leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (also known as North Korea). He is the Chairman of the National Defense Commission, Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, and General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (the ruling party since 1948). He succeeded his father Kim Il-sung, founde...
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Kim Jong-il (also written as Kim Jong Il, Korean: 김정일; born 16 February 1941; official biographies state 16 February 1942) is the paramount leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (also known as North Korea). He is the Chairman of the National Defense Commission, Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, and General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (the ruling party since 1948). He succeeded his father Kim Il-sung, founder of North Korea, who died in 1994, and commands the fourth largest standing army in the world. North Korea officially refers to him as the "Dear Leader".
CNN has described Kim as "one of the most mysterious leaders in the world."
Soviet records show that Kim Jong-il was born in the village of Vyatskoye, near Khabarovsk, in 1941, where his father, Kim Il-sung, commanded the 1st Battalion of the Soviet 88th Brigade, made up of Chinese and Korean exiles. Kim Jong-il's mother, Kim Jong-suk, was Kim Il-sung's first wife. During his youth in the...
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