A look back at the political career of North Korea’s dictatorial Dear Leader
Ultimate Ruler
Said by official Korean sources to be 69 years old at the time of his death, Kim Jong Il (seen here in a 1992 photo) ruled North Korea since the death of his father in 1994.AFP / Getty
In the Weeds
During Kim's leadership, North Korea's state-controlled economy struggled. Floods and drought played havoc with the food supply in a country with a limited supply of arable land. To make matters worse, the Republic's isolation from the rest of the world under Kim left it unable to trade for goods, leading to widespread famine. Here, the Dear Leader visits a farm in 2003.EPA
Stormy Relationship
The two Koreas, separated during World War II, have maintained a rocky, tense relationship since then. They are divided by a buffer zone that is commonly referred to as the most heavily armed border in the world. In October 2007, Kim met with his South Korean counterpart President Roh Moo-hyun, above, in a historic summit in Pyongyang.AFP / Getty
Anger
Kim's policies, in particular his pursuit of nuclear weapons, displeased South Korea, where demonstrators have staged numerous protests, like this one in 2003.Chung Sung-Jun / Getty
Family
Not much is known about Kim Jong Il's personal life. In this 1981 photo, he sits next to his eldest son Kim Jong Nam. Reports suggest he was married once but became estranged from his wife and that he had three other children, two of whom were born after this photo was taken.Getty
Farewell
Kim waves to a crowd in 1992. North Korean sources report that he died, possibly from a stroke, during a train ride on Dec. 17, 2011.Polaris
The Young Kim
Official North Korean sources report that Kim was born in a secret military camp in North Korea, but Soviet records show he was born in Vyatskoye, a village near Khabarovsk, Russia, where his father commanded a battalion of Chinese and Korean exiles.Corbis
Family Legacy
Kim Jong Il as a child with his parents Kim Jong Suk, right, and leader Kim Il Sung, in a souvenir picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP Images
Young Days
A youthful and smiling Kim Jong Il straddles a horse while posing on a mountainside in a souvenir picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.Korean Central News Agency / AP
Father and Son
Kim's father Kim Il Sung, left, led North Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death. He was known during his lifetime as the Great Leader and was pronounced Eternal President upon his death. His son thus never held the title of President. Instead he held the titles of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the National Defense Commission, a post that was decreed as the "highest post of state" in 1998. Father and son are pictured here in 1992 inspecting a soccer field in Pyongyang.AFP / Getty
Succession
By the time Kim Jong Il officially took over the reins of power from his father, he had already been running the country for a while. He had long been in control of the party operation and was named commander of the armed forces in 1991. Here, in an undated photo, he waves to attendees of a state function.Orion Press / Sipa
Seat of Power
Kim ruled his country with an autocratic hand. His authority extended from making appointments to any senior post to determining what types of gifts are given to party officials and commoners on national holidays. In this photo, he attends the fifth session of the 11th Supreme People's Assembly in 2007.AFP / Getty
Cult of Personality
Defectors from North Korea report that Kim and his father are treated like deities in the school curriculums. They are frequently the subject of heroic sculptures and paintings like the one above.Alain Nogues / Corbis
Commander
Despite its small size, North Korea boasts the fifth largest military in the world; Kim, seen here with officers in 1988, was its paramount leader.AFP / Getty
