Tower of the Juche Idea in Pyongyang

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The Juche Idea, sometimes spelled Chuch'e (Korean pronunciation: [tɕutɕʰe]) is a political thesis of Kim Il-sung, the founder of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which says that the Korean masses are the masters of the country's development. From the 1950s to the 1970s, Kim elaborated the Juche Idea into a set of principles that the government uses to justify its policy decisions. Among these are a strong military posture and reliance on Korean national resources. The name comes from juche, meaning "main body" or "mainstream," and is sometimes translated in North Korean sources as "independent stand" or "spirit of self-reliance." It has also been interpreted as "always putting Korean things first."^[1]:414 According to Kim Il-sung, the Juche Idea is based on the belief that "man is the master of everything and decides everything."

Origin[link]

North Korean sources trace the origins of Juche to the 1930s. According to these sources the earliest mention of Juche was in a June 30, 1930 speech by Kim Il-sung, who was then 18 years old.^[2] The authenticity of these early speeches, however, is disputed.^[3]

The first known reference to Juche was a speech given by Kim Il-sung on December 28, 1955, titled "On Eliminating Dogmatism and Formalism and Establishing Juche in Ideological Work." In this speech, Kim urged party propagandists not to import ideas and customs from the Soviet Union, but to portray Korea as a revolutionary nation in its own right. He stated,

To make revolution in Korea we must know Korean history and geography as well as the customs of the Korean people. Only then is it possible to educate our people in a way that suits them and to inspire in them an ardent love for their native place and their motherland.^[1]:421

Kim focuses on the importance of education and learning Korean history. Through the education of Korean people's own history will it "stimulate their national pride and rouse the broad masses to revolutionary struggle".^[1]:421 Kim talks throughout his speech bulleting monumental events of the past and how certain outcomes could have been prevented. He stresses the importance of remembering their struggle, and that not learning their past, or denying it would "mean that our people did nothing."^[1]:422

Hwang Jang-yeop, Kim's top adviser on ideology, discovered this speech later in the 1950s when Kim sought to develop his own version of Marxism–Leninism, which Juche was originally seen as a progression of,^[4] and began to craft the idea birthing it into the society-defining credo it became.^[5] By 1958, Kim Il-sung had established himself as "the unrivaled ruler in North Korea" and thus started the language used to reference the people's devotion to Kim. This resulted in building a personality cult around him to glorify Kim Il-sung and his family's history and legitimacy as leaders.^[6] Even following Kim Il-sung's death he remains the eternal president and even those who were critical of his son Kim Jung-il still passionately revered him. The rewritten history of Korea goes as far back as 1866 when the "heroic" Kim family and his great-grandfather had fought against American imperialism. This is an example of the way in which the North Korean political machine began to mythologize Kim's history and abilities. The cult of personality surrounding the Kim family has both legitimated and helped garner support for the Juche ideology. Kim Il-sung was revered as the "supreme leader and the sun" of all people.^[6]

The Juche Idea itself gradually emerged as a systematic ideological doctrine under the political pressures of the Sino-Soviet split. Development of an independent approach to Marxism-Leninism was necessary to remain neutral as the split intensified. The ideology was pushed aside for almost a decade, until it reemerged when Kim spoke of the chuch'e principles to the Korean People's Army in 1963.^[6] Kim Il-sung outlined the three fundamental principles of Juche in his April 14, 1965, speech "On Socialist Construction and the South Korean Revolution in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea":

1. Political independence [chaju]
2. Economic self-sustenance [charip]
3. Self-reliance in defense [chawi]

Former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il officially authored the definitive statement on Juche in a 1982 document titled On the Juche Idea.^[7] He had final authority over the interpretation of the state ideology^[8] and incorporated the Songun (army-first) policy into it in 1996.

The idea of Juche was developed by Kim Il-sung as the guide and foundation of all conduct in North Korea. The meaning of Juche is "self-reliance" and "independence" in politics, economics, defense, and ideology. Juche emphasized independence in political work, self-sustenance in economic endeavors, and self-defense in national defense. Chajusong (self-reliance), minjok tongnip (national or ethnic independence), charip kyongje (independent economy), the common factors that all the colonized peoples wanted at mid-century, are the synonyms of Juche and can be the antonyms of sadaejuui, which means serving and relying upon foreign power. The second character of Juche, che, is found in the late-nineteenth century self-strengthening movement of Li Hung-chang’s term. Che of Juche is same as ti of ti-yung in Chinese learning and tai of kokutai in Japanese learning.^[1]:413 The Koreans use Juche in their case with the goal of creating a subjective, solipsistic state of mind, the correct thought that must precede and that will then determine correct action but also as a means of defining what is simultaneously modern and Korean.^[1]:414

Ideology and practical application[link]

North Korea

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According to Kim Jong-il's On the Juche Idea, the application of Juche in state policy entails the following:

1. The people must have independence (chajusong) in thought and politics, economic self-sufficiency, and self-reliance in defense.
2. Policy must reflect the will and aspirations of the masses and employ them fully in revolution and construction.
3. Methods of revolution and construction must be suitable to the situation of the country.
4. The most important work of revolution and construction is molding people ideologically as communists and mobilizing them to constructive action.

The Juche outlook requires absolute loyalty to the revolutionary party and leader. In North Korea, these are the Workers' Party of Korea and the supreme commander, formerly Kim Jong-il.

In official North Korean histories, one of the first purported applications of Juche was the Five-Year Plan of 1956-1961, also known as the Chollima Movement, which led to the Chongsan-ri Method and the Taean Work System. The Five-Year Plan involved rapid economic development of North Korea, with a focus on heavy industry, to ensure political independence from both the Soviet Union and China. The Chollima Movement, however, applied the same method of centralized state planning that began with the Soviet First Five-Year Plan in 1928. The campaign also coincided with and was partially based on Mao's First Five-Year Plan and the Great Leap Forward. North Korea was apparently able to avoid the catastrophes of the Great Leap Forward.

Despite its aspirations to self-sufficiency, North Korea has continually ^[9] relied on economic assistance from other countries. Historically, North Korea received most ^[9] of its assistance from the USSR until its collapse in 1991. In the period after the Korean War, North Korea relied on economic assistance and loans from "fraternal" countries from 1953–1963 and also depended considerably on Soviet industrial aid from 1953 to 1976. Following the fall of the USSR, the North Korean economy went into a crisis, with consequent infrastructural failures contributing to the mass famine of the mid-1990s. After several years of starvation, the People's Republic of China agreed to be a substitute for the Soviet Union as a major aid provider, supplying over US$400 million per year in humanitarian assistance.^[10] Since 2007, North Korea also received large supplies of heavy fuel oil and technical assistance as scheduled in the six-party talks framework.^[11] North Korea was the second largest recipient of international food aid in 2005, and continues to suffer chronic food shortages.

Relation to Marxism, Stalinism, and Maoism[link]

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In 1972, Juche replaced Marxism-Leninism in the revised North Korean constitution as the official state ideology, this being a response to the Sino-Soviet split. Juche was nonetheless defined as a "creative application of Marxism-Leninism." Kim Il-sung also explained that Juche was not original to North Korea and that in formulating it he only laid stress on a programmatic orientation that is inherent to all Stalinist states.^[12]

After the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, North Korea’s greatest economic benefactor, all reference to Marxism-Leninism was dropped in the revised 1998 constitution. Some Marxist-Leninist phraseology remained in occasional use, but in 2009, the word 공산주의 ("communism") itself was dropped from the constitution altogether.^[13] The establishment of the Songun doctrine in the mid-1990s, however, has formally designated the military, not the proletariat or working class, as the main revolutionary force in North Korea.^[12]

Many commentators, journalists, and scholars outside North Korea equate Juche with Stalinism and call North Korea a Stalinist country. Some specialists have argued otherwise and have attempted to characterize the North Korean state as corporatist (Bruce Cumings), national socialist (Brian Myers), guerrillaist (Wada Haruki), monarchist (Dae Sook-suh), and theocratic (Han S. Park, Christopher Hitchens). Those who have made conditional arguments that North Korea is a Stalinist regime include Charles Armstrong, Adrian Buzo, Chong-sik Lee, and Robert Scalapino.^[14]

Kim Il-sung's policy statements and speeches from the 1940s and 1950s confirm that the North Korean government accepted Joseph Stalin's 1924 theory of Socialism in One Country and its model of centralized autarkic economic development. Following Stalin’s death on March 5, 1953, the North Korean leader wrote an emotional obituary in his honor titled "Stalin Is the Inspiration for the Peoples Struggling for Their Freedom and Independence" in a special issue of the WPK newspaper Rodong Sinmun (March 10, 1953), the opening of which reads:

Stalin has died. The ardent heart of the great leader of progressive mankind has ceased to beat. This sad news has spread over Korean territory like lightning, inflicting a bitter blow to the hearts of millions of people. Korean People's Army soldiers, workers, farmers, and students, as well as all residents of both South and North Korea, have heard the sad news with profound grief. The very being of Korea has seemed to bow down, and mothers who had apparently exhausted their tears in weeping for the children they had lost in the bombing of the [American] air bandits sobbed again.

Despite this, statements by Kim Il-sung concerning learning from Stalin and the Soviet experience were later removed from public record.^[15]

After Stalin's death, Stalin's cult of personality was denounced at the 1956 Twentieth Party Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, North Korean state authorities ended overt adulation of the Soviet leader. But the regime refused to follow the example of Soviet political reform, which it decried as modern revisionism, or join the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON), the major international trade organization of Marxist-Leninist states subordinated to the economic development of the Soviet Union. At present, the North Korean government admits no connection between Juche and the ideas of Stalin, though occasional mention is made of his supposed political merits.^[14]

Political thinking from Maoist China has greatly influenced North Korea, such as the North's Chollima mass mobilization movements, which were based on China's Great Leap Forward. However, the ruling party in Pyongyang strongly denounces any Maoist influences on Juche in an attempt to appear independent.^[16] So even though the influence of Mao Zedong is also not formally acknowledged in North Korea, WPK ideologists and speech writers began to openly use Maoist ideas, such as the concept of self-regeneration, in the 1950s and 1960s. Maoist theories of art also began to influence North Korean musical theater during this time. These developments occurred as a result of the influence of the Chinese Army's involvement during the Korean War, as well as during the Sino-Soviet split when Kim Il-sung sided with Mao against Soviet de-Stalinization. Kim attended middle school^[17] in China, he was conversant in Chinese, and he had been a guerrilla partisan in the Communist Party of China from about 1931-1941. The postwar Kim Il-sung regime had also emulated Mao’s Great Leap Forward, his theory of the Mass line (qunzhong luxian), and the guerrilla tradition. Juche, however, does not exactly share the Maoist faith in the peasantry over the working class and the village over the city.

Effects on the economy[link]

North Korea's economic program under Juche is to “build a rich and strong state that can guarantee our nation’s chajusong.” Kim Il-sung guaranteed the chajusong (freedom) of North Korea’s national economy claiming that North Korea must use its own domestic resources and its own strength to be independent of external sources from other countries.^[1]:429 Even though Juche was not the ultimate cause of North Korea’s famine and unstable economy, the idea had drastically reformed the country’s economic system. Due to the Juche idea of the principles of chaju (independence in politics) and charip (self-sustenance in the economy), which are the two of the three fundamental principles that Kim Il-sung outlined in 1965, the country isolated itself from rest of the world and hardly opened up diplomatic relationships with other countries until the collapse of the Soviet bloc forced it to engage with other countries. The charip idea of a self-contained economy was unlike other countries that withdrew themselves from the world economy such as Albania under Enver Hoxha and Myanma (Burma), two countries that "withdrew" to no apparent purpose as their economies idled along or got worse; North Korea didn't idle but grew until the 1980s.^[1]:429

The North Koreans withdrew from the world economy in order to develop their economy and country. By being able to sustain their own economy, they would, in theory, be independent of other countries and would be self-reliable. However, they had to rely on USSR and China to sustain their livelihood. In 1986, Kim Il-sung set the goal of ten million tons of grain production. Yet the plan failed and the country produced only four million tons of grain and North Korea had to rely on foreign aid to provide them with two million tons of grain. The six million tons of grain they managed to get a hold of was the bare minimum to feed their population.^[1]:438 The economic crisis continued to be visible even in the 1990s.^[18] "Most of the blame was attributed not to North Korea's ponderous socialist system but to 'the collapse of socialist countries and the socialist market of the world,' which 'shattered' many of P'yongyang's trade partners and agreements.”^[1]:436 The fall of the socialist market and trade partners led North Korea into a crisis that was simply not manageable with their current system. As a result, paradoxical to the Juche philosophy of autarky, North Korea established the Najin-Sonbong free economic and trade zone during the mid-1990s.

Investors from firms in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, South Korea, and the United States are some of the countries that opened manufacturing facilities in the DPRK. The Shell Oil Corporation (in 1995) is one example of large multinational corporations that invested in the open trade area.^[1]:437 Near the parallel, North Korea also opened the city of Kaesong for exports until 2010 when South Korea imposed economic sanctions after the sinking of a South Korean warship.^[19]

The third principle of the Juche idea, chawi (self-defense in national defense), caused North Korea to spend much of its capital for military purposes, thus decreasing the amount of capital that could be used for developing the economy (it is estimated that 25 percent of the annual budget goes to the military). Kim Jong Il explicitly expressed his "army first" policy since the mid-1990s.^[1]:446

Although in 1949, common objects such as pens or watches were rare in North Korea, by the mid 1960s North Korea's economy was growing faster than the South's. In 1957-1961, the Five Year Plan placed reconstructing and developing the major industries destroyed by the war on the top of the priority list and placed consumer goods at the bottom of the priorities. This bias toward rebuilding major industries, "combined with unprecedentedly large amounts of aid from the Soviet bloc, pushed the economy forward at world-beating growth rates in the 1950s and 1960s".^[1]:433

Social class[link]

Unlike the Choson dynasty where there was a huge gap between the upper and lower classes, North Korea had adopted a unified social mass, also known as the gathered-together "people". Instead of a strict social hierarchy or a class divided society, North Korea had, in theory, divided the union into three classes-peasant, worker, and the samuwon (intellectuals and professionals) where each sect is just as important as the other. The samuwon class consisted of clerks, small traders, bureaucrats, professors and writers. This was a unique class that was created in order to increase the education and literature of North Korea. Normally Communist nations would value only the farmers or laborers, thus in the USSR intelligentsia was not an independent class of its own, but an insertion between the classes proletariat and bourgeoisie. Language reforms followed revolutions more than once, such as the simplification of Chinese characters under Mao (a consequence of the divergent orthographic choices of Taiwan and the People's Republic of China), or the simplification of Russian language after the 1917 revolution in Russia and consequent struggle against illiteracy, known in Soviet Russia as Likbez (Likvidaciya Bezgramotnosti, liquidation of illiteracy).^[20]

The emphasis on literacy and education stems from the understanding, explained by Lenin, that illiterate workers or peasants can't become subjects of political struggle. It was necessary, as well, to create a class of highly skilled workers, which was impossible without a pool of literate workers to draw from. North Korea, too, believed that promoting the education of the populace was as important as economic growth. These three ideas are cherished, and are symbolized through the symbol or statue of a writing brush across the hammer and sickle. North Korea also adopted a Soviet-style socialism approach.^[21] They believed in the rapid industrialization through labor and believed in subjecting nature to human will.^[1]:404 By restructuring the social class into a mass of people who are theoretically all equal, the North Korean government claimed it would be able to attain self-reliance or Juche in the upcoming years. This is questionable, as the country suffers massive food shortages annually and is heavily dependent on foreign aid.^[1]:405

Criticism[link]

Human rights monitoring organizations and political analysts such as Brian Reynolds Myers continually report that the actual situation in North Korea bears no resemblance to Juche theory.^[22] Myers in fact goes so far as to propose Juche is nothing but a sham developed to establish Kim Il-sung as a political thinker alongside Mao Zedong. The country's economy has depended heavily on imports and foreign aid before and after the collapse of the Communist trading bloc. They also claim that the opinions of the people have no actual weight in decision-making. Leading Juche theorist Hwang Jang-yop joined these criticisms after defecting to South Korea, although he maintained his belief in the Juche Idea as he understood it. Political scientist Han S. Park in his book Juche: The Politics of Unconventional Wisdom (2002) and theologian Thomas J. Belke in Juche: A Christian Study of North Korea's State Religion (1999) liken Juche to a religious movement.^[23]

In the People's Republic of China and Vietnam, countries that have both moved away from personality-dominated autocratic institutions of state, Juche is characterized as a ridiculous idea by various internet communities,^[24] and has become the subject of satire by influential Chinese novelty film director Hu Ge.^[25] Juche is seen by some^[24] as a post-Maoist extreme that propels the Korean dictator to a god-like status, while others^[24] see it as a Maoist emulation. Because of the nature of Juche ideology and its incorporation of Korean nationalism, it has been reported that North Korea continues to ignore the contributions of China's People's Liberation Army in the Korean War.^[24]

Outside North Korea[link]

During the Cold War, North Korea promoted Juche and the principle of "self-reliance" as a guide for other countries, particularly third world countries, to develop their economies. Indonesian president Sukarno visited North Korea in 1964 and attempted to implement the North Korean economic program in his country,^[26] but it resulted in a military coup. Romanian president Nicolae Ceauşescu was impressed by ideological mobilization and mass adulation in North Korea during his Asia visit in 1971, and began his systematization campaign shortly afterward with those features.

The North Korean government hosted its first international seminar on the Juche Idea in September 1977. Juche study groups might exist in several countries around the world. The Korean Central News Agency and the Voice of Korea sometimes refer to statements by these groups. However, since Juche study groups are seldom mentioned in reports other than those state-run agencies (KCNA and Voice of Korea), most Juche study groups are likely fabrications of North Korean propaganda. According to the North Korean-run website www.Korea-dpr.com, two of the most prominent of these groups are International Institute of the Juche Idea in Japan and the Korean Friendship Association, an international organisation presided over by Spanish national Alejandro Cao de Benos de Les y Pérez.^[27] Similarly, a small stalinist-inclined organisation called Partei der Arbeit Deutschlands (PdAD, 'Labour Party of Germany') may have emerged in Germany. The party collaborated closely with Gesellschaft zum Studium und Verbreitung der Dschutsche-Ideologie in Deutschland ('Society of Studying and Disseminating the Juche Ideology in Germany'). Both were led by Michael Koth, who later moved towards neo-Nazi positions. The modern Communist Party of Germany has Juche influences. Kim Jong-il emphasized that other countries should not apply Juche formulaically, but should use methods suitable to the situation, consistent with criticisms that Juche ideology is flawed.

Calendar[link]

The North Korean government and associated organizations use a variation of the Gregorian calendar with a Juche year based on April 15, 1912 CE (AD), the date of birth of Kim Il-sung, as year 1. The calendar was introduced in 1997. Months are unchanged from those in the standard Gregorian calendar. In many instances, the Juche year is given after the CE year, for example, 27 June 2007 Juche 96. But in North Korean publications, the Juche year is usually placed before the corresponding CE year, as in Juche 96 (2007).^[28] Calendar schemes based on political era are also found in the Japanese era name (Nengo) system and in the Minguo calendar used in the Republic of China (Taiwan), though these are not based on the birth of an individual as in the Gregorian and Juche calendars. Incidentally, the year numbers of the Juche calendar, Minguo calendar, and Japan's Taishō period correspond to each other even though they were not meant to be related.

In August 1997 the Central People's Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea promulgated regulations regarding use of the Juche Era calendar, according to which for dates occurring before 1912 the Gregorian calendar year is used exclusively, so that there is no "negative" Juche year, or "Before Juche" concept. For example, 1682 is rendered as "1682", while 2012 is rendered as "Juche 101, 2012" or as "Juche 101 (2012)."^[29] Critics of Juche charge that the "Juche dating system", as it is based on a person's birth date rather than a political era, reflects a dynastic tradition where era names are specified for ruling Emperors of Japan and China, as well as the Korean Emperors.^[30]

See also[link]

• Political religion
• List of Korea-related topics
• Arirang Festival
• Juche Tower
• Juchesasangpa, the South Korean representation of Juche as a domestic political movement

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Baik, Bong. Kim Il Sung: Biography. Tokyo: Miraisha, 1969–1970. 3 vols.
• Belke, Thomas J. Juche: A Christian Study of North Korea's State Religion. Bartlesville, OK: Living Sacrifice Book Company, 1999. ISBN 0-88264-329-0.
• Cheong, Seong-Chang. "Stalinism and Kimilsungism: A Comparative Analysis of Ideology and Power". Asian Perspective 24.1 (2000): pp. 133–161.
• Fendler, Karoly. "Economic Assistance and Loans from Socialist Countries to North Korea in the Postwar Years, 1953–1963". Asien 42 (Jan 1992): pp. 39–51.
• Kang, Kwang-Shick. "Juche Idea and the Alteration Process in Kim Il Sung's Works: A Study on How to Read Kim Il-Sung's Works". Monash University: KSAA Conference 2001. 25 September 2001. pp. 363–374.
• Kiernan, Ben. The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia Under the Khmer Rouge, 1975–79. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-300-09649-6.
• Kim, Jong-il. On the Juche Idea. 31 March 1982.
• Christian Kracht, Eva Munz, Lukas Nikol, "The Ministry Of Truth. Kim Jong Ils North Korea", Feral House, Oct 2007, 132 pages, 88 color photographs, ISBN 978932595277
• Lankov, Andrei. "The Official Propaganda in the DPRK: Ideas and Methods". North Korean Studies. 2006.
• Lee, Chae-Jin. "China and North Korea: An Uncertain Relationship". North Korea after Kim Il Sung. Eds. Dae-Sook Suh and Chae-Jin Lee. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998. pp. 193–209. ISBN 1-55587-763-X.
• MacKerras, Colin. "The Juche Idea and the Thought of Kim Il Sung". Marxism in Asia. Eds. Colin MacKerras and Nick Knight. London: Croom Helm, 1985. ISBN 0-312-51852-8. pp. 151–175.
• "NK 2nd Largest Food Aid Recipient". KBS Global. 21 July 2006.
• Park, Han S. North Korea: The Politics of Unconventional Wisdom. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2002. ISBN 1-58826-050-X.
• Short, Philip. Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2004. ISBN 0-8050-6662-4.
• Tolnay, Adam. "Ceausescu's Journey to the East". Georgetown University. Ceausescu.org.
• Van Ree, Erik. "The Limits of Juche: North Korea's Dependence on Soviet Industrial Aid, 1953–76". Journal of Communist Studies 5 (Mar 1989): pp. 50–73.

External links[link]

• North Korea Uncovered, (North Korea Google Earth) See most of North Korea's monuments, political, cultural, economic and military infrastructure on Google Earth.
• The International Institute of the Juche Idea
• Juche Idea Study Group of England
• Songun Politics Study Group USA
• Revolutionary View of the Leader
• A State of Mind (Documentary about Mass Games in North Korea)
• Communist Red Brigades Organization
• The Juche Idea, Shine All Over The World! (Epitaph enshrined in the Tower of Juche Idea, Pyongyang)

Kim Jong-il 김정일
File:Portrait of Kim Jong Il released by state media.jpg
Official portrait
Supreme Leader of North Korea
In office 8 July 1994 – 17 December 2011[1]
Premier	Hong Song-nam Pak Pong-ju Kim Yong-il Choe Yong-rim
Preceded by	Kim Il-sung (as President)
Succeeded by	Kim Jong-un
General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea
In office 8 July 1994 – 17 December 2011 (Eternal General Secretary since 11 April 2012)
Deputy	Kim Yong-nam Choe Yong-rim Jo Myong-rok Ri Yong-ho
Preceded by	Kim Il-sung
Succeeded by	Kim Jong-un (as First Secretary) (Position abolished as Kim Jong-il was declared as the Eternal General Secretary on 11 April 2012.)
Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea
In office 9 April 1993 – 17 December 2011 (Eternal Chairman of the National Defence Commission since 13 April 2012)
Deputy	Jo Myong-rok
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Kim Jong-un (as First Chairman) (Position abolished as Kim Jong-il was declared as the Eternal Chairman on 13 April 2012)
Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army
In office 24 December 1991 – 17 December 2011
Preceded by	Kim Il-sung
Succeeded by	Kim Jong-un[2]
Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party
In office 8 October 1997 – 17 December 2011
Deputy	Kim Jong-un Ri Yong-ho
Preceded by	Kim Il-sung
Succeeded by	Kim Jong-un
Personal details
Born	Yuri Irsenovich Kim (1941-02-16)16 February 1941 Vyatskoye, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (Soviet records) (1942-02-16)16 February 1942 Baekdu Mountain, Japanese Korea (North Korean biography) Disputed, see section Birth.
Died	17 December 2011(2011-12-17) (aged 70) (suspected heart attack) Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Resting place	Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Political party	Workers' Party of Korea
Spouse(s)	Kim Young-sook (1974–2011)
Domestic partner	Song Hye-rim (1968–2002) Ko Young-hee (1977–2004) Kim Ok (2004–2011)
Children	Kim Sul-song Kim Jong-nam Kim Jong-chul Kim Jong-un
Alma mater	Kim Il-sung University
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	North Korea
Service/branch	Korean People's Army
Years of service	1991–2011
Rank	Wonsu (Marshal)
Commands	Supreme Commander

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Kim Jong-il (born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;^[3] 16 February 1941; official biography claims 1942^[4] – 17 December 2011^[5]) was the supreme leader of North Korea (DPRK) from 1994 to 2011. He succeeded his father and founder of the DPRK Kim Il-sung following the elder Kim's death in 1994. Kim Jong-il was the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea, and the supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, the fourth-largest standing army in the world.

In April 2009, North Korea's constitution was amended to refer to him as the "supreme leader".^[6] He was also referred to as the "Dear Leader", "our Father", and "the General", among others.^[7] His son Kim Jong-un was promoted to a senior position in the ruling Workers' Party and is his successor.^[8] In 2010, he was ranked 31st in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's Most Powerful People.^[9] The North Korean government announced his death on 19 December 2011.^[5]

Following his demise, he was succeeded by his third son Kim Jong-un. He was proclaimed the Eternal General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Eternal Chairman of the National Defence Commission in 2012. His birthday is a public holiday in the country.

Childhood[link]

Birth[link]

Soviet records show that Kim was born in the village of Vyatskoye, near Khabarovsk, in 1941,^[10] 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.

However, Kim Jong-il's official biography^[11] states he was born in a secret military camp on Baekdu Mountain (Korean: 백두산밀영고향집) in Japanese-occupied Korea on 16 February 1942.^[12] Official biographers claim that his birth at Baekdu Mountain was foretold by a swallow, and heralded by the appearance of a double rainbow across the sky over the mountain and a new star in the heavens.^[13]

In 1945, Kim was four years old when World War II ended and Korea regained independence from Japan. His father returned to Pyongyang that September, and in late November Kim returned to Korea via a Soviet ship, landing at Sonbong (선봉군, also Unggi). The family moved into a former Japanese officer's mansion in Pyongyang, with a garden and pool. Kim Jong-il's brother, "Shura" Kim (the first Kim Pyong-il, but known by his Russian nickname), drowned there in 1948. Unconfirmed reports suggest that five-year-old Kim Jong-il might have caused the accident.^[14]

In 1949, his mother died in childbirth.^[15] Unconfirmed reports suggest that his mother might have been shot and left to bleed to death.^[14]

Education[link]

According to his official biography, Kim completed the course of general education between September 1950 and August 1960. He attended Primary School No. 4 and Middle School No. 1 (Namsan Higher Middle School) in Pyongyang.^{[citation needed]} This is contested by foreign academics, who believe he is more likely to have received his early education in the People's Republic of China as a precaution to ensure his safety during the Korean War.^[16]

Throughout his schooling, Kim was involved in politics. He was active in the Children's Union^[17] and the Democratic Youth League (DYL), taking part in study groups of Marxist political theory and other literature. In September 1957 he became vice-chairman of his middle school's DYL branch. He pursued a programme of anti-factionalism and attempted to encourage greater ideological education among his classmates.

Kim is also said to have received English language education at the University of Malta in the early 1970s,^[18] on his infrequent holidays in Malta as guest of Prime Minister Dom Mintoff.^[19]

The elder Kim had meanwhile remarried and had another son, Kim Pyong-il (named after Kim Jong-il's drowned brother). Since 1988, Kim Pyong-il has served in a series of North Korean embassies in Europe and is the North Korean ambassador to Poland. Foreign commentators suspect that Kim Pyong-il was sent to these distant posts by his father in order to avoid a power struggle between his two sons.^[20]

Presidium member and party secretary (1980–1994)[link]

By the time of the Sixth Party Congress in October 1980, Kim Jong-il's control of the Party operation was complete. He was given senior posts in the Politburo, the Military Commission and the party Secretariat. When he was made a member of the Seventh Supreme People's Assembly in February 1982, international observers deemed him the heir apparent of North Korea.

At this time Kim assumed the title "Dear Leader" (친애하는 지도자, ch'inaehanŭn jidoja)^[21] the government began building a personality cult around him patterned after that of his father, the "Great Leader". Kim Jong-il was regularly hailed by the media as the "fearless leader" and "the great successor to the revolutionary cause". He emerged as the most powerful figure behind his father in North Korea.

On 24 December 1991, Kim was also named supreme commander of the North Korean armed forces. Since the Army is the real foundation of power in North Korea, this was a vital step. Defence Minister Oh Jin-wu, one of Kim Il-sung's most loyal subordinates, engineered Kim Jong-il's acceptance by the Army as the next leader of North Korea, despite his lack of military service. The only other possible leadership candidate, Prime Minister Kim Il (no relation), was removed from his posts in 1976. In 1992, Kim Il-sung publicly stated that his son was in charge of all internal affairs in the Democratic People's Republic.

In 1992, radio broadcasts started referring to him as the "Dear Father", instead of the "Dear Leader", suggesting a promotion. His 50th birthday in February was the occasion for massive celebrations, exceeded only by those for the 80th birthday of Kim Il Sung himself on 15 April that same year.

According to defector Hwang Jang-yop, the North Korean government system became even more centralized and autocratic during the 1980s and 1990s under Kim Jong-il than it had been under his father. In one example explained by Hwang, although Kim Il-sung required his ministers to be loyal to him, he nonetheless and frequently sought their advice during decision-making. In contrast, Kim Jong-il demanded absolute obedience and agreement from his ministers and party officials with no advice or compromise, and he viewed any slight deviation from his thinking as a sign of disloyalty. According to Hwang, Kim Jong-il personally directed even minor details of state affairs, such as the size of houses for party secretaries and the delivery of gifts to his subordinates.^[22]

By the 1980s, North Korea began to experience severe economic stagnation. Kim Il-sung's policy of juche (self-reliance) cut the country off from almost all external trade, even with its traditional partners, the Soviet Union and China.

South Korea accused Kim of ordering the 1983 bombing in Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar), which killed 17 visiting South Korean officials, including four cabinet members, and another in 1987 which killed all 115 on board Korean Air Flight 858.^[23] A North Korean agent, Kim Hyon Hui, confessed to planting a bomb in the case of the second, saying the operation was ordered by Kim Jong-il personally.^[24]

In 1992, Kim Jong-il's voice was broadcast within North Korea for the first time during a military parade for the KPA's 60th year anniversary in Pyongyang's Kim Il-sung Square, in which Kim Il-sung attended with Kim Jong-il by his side. After Kim Il-sung's speech, and the parade inspection his son approached the microphone at the grandstand in response to the report of the parade inspector and simply said: "Glory to the heroic soldiers of the Korean People's Army!" Everyone in the audience applauded and the parade participants at the square grounds (which included veteran soldiers and officers of the KPA) shouted "ten thousand years" three times after that.

Ruler of North Korea[link]

Kim Jong-il on August 24, 2011

On 8 July 1994, Kim Jong-il's father, Kim Il-sung, died at the age of 82 from a heart attack. However, it took three years for Kim Jong-il to consolidate his power. On 1 January 1995, Kim Jong Il inspected a unit of the Korean People’s Army, which was his first official action as the supreme leader of the DPRK in the first year after the President died. It was also an official act done amid various conjectures on the future of the DPRK and his political direction.^[25] On 10 Oct Kim reviewed a massive military parade and a procession of 1 million people in Pyongyang, marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the country's ruling Workers' Party of Korea in what was his first major public appearance after his father's death.

He officially took the titles of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea on 8 October 1997 and Chairman of the National Defence Commission on 9 April 1993. In 1998, his Defence Commission chairmanship was declared to be "the highest post of the state", so Kim may be regarded as North Korea's head of state from that date. Also in 1998, the Supreme People's Assembly wrote the president's post out of the constitution in memory of Kim Il-Sung, who was designated the country's "Eternal President". It can be argued, though, that he became the country's leader when he became leader of the Workers' Party; in most Communist countries the party leader is the most powerful person in the country.

Officially, Kim was part of a triumvirate heading the executive branch of the North Korean government along with Premier Choe Yong-rim and parliament chairman Kim Yong-nam (no relations). Each nominally held powers equivalent to a third of a president's powers in most other presidential systems. Kim Jong-il was commander of the armed forces, Choe Yong-rim headed the government and Kim Yong-nam handled foreign relations. In practice, however, Kim Jong-il exercised absolute control over the government and the country. Although not required to stand for popular election to his key offices, he was unanimously elected to the Supreme People's Assembly every five years, representing a military constituency, due to his concurrent capacities as KPA Supreme Commander and Chairman of the DPRK NDC.^{[citation needed]}

Economic policies[link]

The state-controlled economy of North Korea struggled throughout the 1990s, primarily due to mismanagement. In addition, North Korea experienced severe floods in the mid-1990s, exacerbated by poor land management.^[26][27][28] This, compounded with only 18% arable land^[29] and an inability to import the goods necessary to sustain industry,^[30] led to an immense famine and left North Korea in economic shambles. Faced with a country in decay, Kim adopted a "Military-First" policy (선군정치, Sŏn'gun chŏngch'i) to strengthen the country and reinforce the regime.^[31] On the national scale, a North Korean spokesman has claimed that this has resulted in a positive growth rate for the country since 1996, with the implementation of "landmark socialist-type market economic practices" in 2002 keeping the North afloat despite a continued dependency on foreign aid for food.^[32]

In the wake of the devastation of the 1990s, the government began formally approving some activity of small-scale bartering and trade. As observed by Daniel Sneider, associate director for research at the Stanford University Asia-Pacific Research Center, this flirtation with capitalism was "fairly limited, but — especially compared to the past — there are now remarkable markets that create the semblance of a free market system."^[33]

In 2002, Kim Jong-il declared that "money should be capable of measuring the worth of all commodities."^[34] These gestures toward economic reform mirror similar actions taken by China's Deng Xiaoping in the late 1980s and early 90s. During a rare visit in 2006, Kim expressed admiration for China's rapid economic progress.^[35]

Foreign relations[link]

Kim Jong-il with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2001

In 1998, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung implemented the "Sunshine Policy" to improve North-South relations and to allow South Korean companies to start projects in the North. Kim Jong-il announced plans to import and develop new technologies to develop North Korea's fledgling software industry. As a result of the new policy, the Kaesong Industrial Park was constructed in 2003 just north of the de-militarized zone, with the planned participation of 250 South Korean companies, employing 100,000 North Koreans, by 2007.^[36] However, by March 2007, the Park contained only 21 companies — employing 12,000 North Korean workers.^[37] As of May 2010 the park employs over 40,000 North Korean workers.^[38]

In 1994, North Korea and the United States signed an Agreed Framework which was designed to freeze and eventually dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program in exchange for aid in producing two power-generating nuclear reactors.^[39] In 2002, Kim Jong-il's government admitted to having produced nuclear weapons since the 1994 agreement. Kim's regime argued the secret production was necessary for security purposes — citing the presence of United States-owned nuclear weapons in South Korea and the new tensions with the United States under President George W. Bush.^[40] On 9 October 2006, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency announced that it had successfully conducted an underground nuclear test.

Cult of personality[link]

A North Korean voting booth containing portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il under the national flag. Below the portraits is the ballot box.

Kim Jong-il was the centre of an elaborate personality cult inherited from his father and founder of the DPRK, Kim Il-sung. Defectors have been quoted as saying that North Korean schools deify both father and son.^{[41][page needed]} He was often the centre of attention throughout ordinary life in the DPRK. On his 60th birthday (based on his official date of birth), mass celebrations occurred throughout the country on the occasion of his Hwangab.^[42] Many North Koreans believed that he had the "magical" ability to "control the weather" based on his mood.^[41] In 2010, the North Korean media reported that Kim's distinctive clothing had set worldwide fashion trends.^[43]

One point of view is that Kim Jong Il's cult of personality was solely out of respect for Kim Il-sung or out of fear of punishment for failure to pay homage.^[44] Media and government sources from outside of North Korea generally support this view,^{[45][46][47][48][49]} while North Korean government sources aver it was a genuine hero worship.^[50] The song "No Motherland Without You", sung by the KPA State Merited Choir, was created especially for Kim in 1992 and is frequently broadcast on the radio and from loudspeakers on the streets of Pyongyang.^[51]

Human rights record[link]

According to a 2004 Human Rights Watch report, the North Korean government under Kim was "among the world's most repressive governments", having up to 200,000 political prisoners according to U.S. and South Korean officials,^[52] and no freedom of the press or religion, political opposition or equal education:^[53] "Virtually every aspect of political, social, and economic life is controlled by the government."

2008 health and waning power rumors[link]

In an August 2008 issue of the Japanese newsweekly Shūkan Gendai, Waseda University professor Toshimitsu Shigemura, an authority on the Korean Peninsula,^[54] claimed that Kim Jong-il died of diabetes in late 2003 and had been replaced in public appearances by one or more stand-ins previously employed to protect him from assassination attempts.^[55] In a subsequent best-selling book, The True Character of Kim Jong-il, Shigemura cited apparently unnamed people close to Kim's family along with Japanese and South Korean intelligence sources, claiming they confirmed Kim's diabetes took a turn for the worse early in 2000 and from then until his supposed death three and a half years later he was using a wheelchair. Shigemura moreover claimed a voiceprint analysis of Kim speaking in 2004 did not match a known earlier recording. It was also noted that Kim Jong-il did not appear in public for the Olympic torch relay in Pyongyang on 28 April 2008. The question had reportedly "baffled foreign intelligence agencies for years."^[56]

On 9 September 2008, various sources reported that after he did not show up that day for a military parade celebrating North Korea's 60th anniversary, United States intelligence agencies believed Kim might be "gravely ill" after having suffered a stroke. He had last been seen in public a month earlier.^[57]

Kim Jong-il as of 2011

A former CIA official said earlier reports of a health crisis were likely accurate. North Korean media remained silent on the issue. An Associated Press report said analysts believed Kim had been supporting moderates in the foreign ministry, while North Korea's powerful military was against so-called "Six-Party" negotiations with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States aimed towards ridding North Korea of nuclear weapons. Some United States officials noted that soon after rumours about Kim's health were publicized a month before, North Korea had taken a "tougher line in nuclear negotiations." In late August North Korea's official news agency reported the government would "consider soon a step to restore the nuclear facilities in Nyongbyon to their original state as strongly requested by its relevant institutions." Analysts said this meant "the military may have taken the upper hand and that Kim might no longer be wielding absolute authority." By 10 September, there were conflicting reports. Unidentified South Korean government officials said Kim had undergone surgery after suffering a minor stroke and had apparently "intended to attend 9 September event in the afternoon but decided not to because of the aftermath of the surgery." High ranking North Korean official Kim Yong-nam said, "While we wanted to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the country with General Secretary Kim Jong-Il, we celebrated on our own." Song Il-Ho, North Korea's ambassador said, "We see such reports as not only worthless, but rather as a conspiracy plot." Seoul's Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that "the South Korean embassy in Beijing had received an intelligence report that Kim collapsed on 22 August."^[58] The New York Times reported Kim was "very ill and most likely suffered a stroke a few weeks ago,^[when?] but United States intelligence authorities do not think his death is imminent."^[59] The BBC noted that the North Korean government denied these reports, stating that Kim's health problems were "not serious enough to threaten his life",^[60][61] although they did confirm that he had suffered a stroke on 15 August.^[62]

Japan's Kyodo News agency reported on 14 September, that "Kim collapsed on 14 August due to stroke or a cerebral hemorrhage, and that Beijing dispatched five military doctors at the request of Pyongyang. Kim will require a long period of rest and rehabilitation before he fully recovers and has complete command of his limbs again, as with typical stroke victims." Japan's Mainichi Shimbun claimed Kim had occasionally lost consciousness since April.^[63] Japan's Tokyo Shimbun on 15 September, added that Kim was staying at the Bongwha State Guest House. He was apparently conscious "but he needs some time to recuperate from the recent stroke, with some parts of his hands and feet paralyzed". It cited Chinese sources which claimed that one cause for the stroke could have been stress brought about by the United States delay to remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.^[64]

On 19 October, North Korea reportedly ordered its diplomats to stay near their embassies to await "an important message", according to Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun,^[65] setting off renewed speculation about the health of the ailing leader.

By 29 October 2008, reports stated Kim suffered a serious setback and had been taken back to hospital.^[66] The New York Times reported that Taro Aso, on 28 October 2008, stated in a parliamentary session that Kim had been hospitalized: "His condition is not so good. However, I don't think he is totally incapable of making decisions." Aso further said a French neurosurgeon was aboard a plane for Beijing, en route to North Korea. Further, Kim Sung-ho, director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed parliamentary session in Seoul that "Kim appeared to be recovering quickly enough to start performing his daily duties."^[67] The Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported "a serious problem" with Kim's health. Japan's Fuji Television network reported that Kim's eldest son, Kim Jong-nam, traveled to Paris to hire a neurosurgeon for his father, and showed footage where the surgeon boarded flight CA121 bound for Pyongyang from Beijing on 24 October. The French weekly Le Point identified him as Francois-Xavier Roux, neurosurgery director of Paris' Sainte-Anne Hospital, but Roux himself stated he was in Beijing for several days and not North Korea.^[68] On 19 December 2011 Roux confirmed that Kim suffered a debilitating stroke in 2008 and was treated by himself and other French doctors at Pyongyang's Red Cross Hospital. Roux said Kim suffered few lasting effects.^[69]

On 5 November 2008, the North's Korean Central News Agency published 2 photos showing Kim posing with dozens of Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers on a visit to military Unit 2200 and sub-unit of Unit 534. Shown with his usual bouffant hairstyle, with his trademark sunglasses and a white winter parka, Kim stood in front of trees with autumn foliage and a red-and-white banner.^{[70][71][72][73][74]} The Times questioned the authenticity of at least one of these photos.^[75]

In November 2008, Japan's TBS TV network reported that Kim had suffered a second stroke in October, which "affected the movement of his left arm and leg and also his ability to speak."^[76][77] However, South Korea's intelligence agency rejected this report.^[77]

In response to the rumors regarding Kim's health and supposed loss of power, in April 2009, North Korea released a video showing Kim visiting factories and other places around the country between November and December 2008.^[78] In 2010, documents released by WikiLeaks purportedly attested that Kim suffered from epilepsy.^[79]

According to The Daily Telegraph, Kim was a chain-smoker.^[80]

Successor[link]

Kim's three sons and his brother-in-law, along with O Kuk-ryol, an army general, had been noted as possible successors, but the North Korean government had for a time been wholly silent on this matter.^[81]

Kim Yong Hyun, a political expert at the Institute for North Korean Studies at Seoul's Dongguk University, has said, "Even the North Korean establishment would not advocate a continuation of the family dynasty at this point."^[82] Kim's eldest son Kim Jong-nam was earlier believed to be the designated heir but he appears to have fallen out of favor after being arrested at Narita International Airport near Tokyo in 2001 while traveling on a forged passport.^[83]

On 2 June 2009, it was reported that Kim Jong-il's youngest son, Kim Jong-un, was to be North Korea's next leader.^[84] Like his father and grandfather, he has also been given an official sobriquet, The Brilliant Comrade.^[85] Prior to his death, it had been reported that Kim Jong Il was expected to officially designate the son as his successor in 2012. However, there are reports that if leadership passes to one of the sons, Kim Jong Il's brother-in-law, Jang Sung-taek, could attempt to seize power.^{[citation needed]}

Re-election as DPRK leader[link]

On 9 April 2009, Kim was re-elected as chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission,^[86] and made an appearance at the Supreme People's Assembly. This was the first time Kim was seen in public since August 2008. He was unanimously re-elected and given a standing ovation.^[87]

On 28 September 2010, Kim was re-elected as General secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.

2010 and 2011 foreign visits[link]

Kim with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Sosnovy-Bor Military garrison, Zaigrayevsky District Buriatya on 24 August 2011.

Kim reportedly visited the People's Republic of China in May 2010. He entered the country via his personal train on 3 May, and stayed in a hotel in Dalian.^[88] In May 2010, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell told South Korean officials that Kim had only three years to live.^[89] Kim travelled to China again in August 2010, this time with his son, fueling speculation that he is ready to hand over power to his son, Kim Jong-un.^[90]

He returned to China again in May 2011, marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between China and the DPRK.^[91] In late August 2011, he traveled by train to the Russian Far East to meet with President Dmitry Medvedev for unspecified talks.^[92]

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

There is no official information available about Kim Jong-il's marital history, but he is believed to have been officially married once and to have had three mistresses.^[93] He has four known children:

• Kim Jong-nam (son)
• Kim Sul-song (daughter)
• Kim Jong-chul (son)
• Kim Jong-un (son)^[94]

Kim's first mistress, Song Hye-rim, was a star of North Korean films. She was already married to another man and with a child when they met;^[95] Kim is reported to have forced her husband to divorce her. This relationship, started in 1970, was not officially recognized. They had one son, Kim Jong-nam (born 1971) who is Kim Jong-il's eldest son. Kim kept both the relationship and the child a secret (even from his father Kim Il Sung) until Kim ascended to power in 1994.^[95][96] However, after years of estrangement, Song is believed to have died in Moscow in the Central Clinical Hospital in 2002.^[97]

Kim's official wife, Kim Young-sook, was the daughter of a high-ranking military official. His father Kim Il-Sung handpicked her to marry his son.^[93] The two have been estranged for some years. Kim has a daughter from this marriage, Kim Sul-song (born 1974).^[94]

His second mistress, Ko Young-hee, was a Japanese-born ethnic Korean and a dancer. She had taken over the role of First Lady until her death — reportedly of cancer — in 2004. They had two sons, Kim Jong-chul, in 1981, and Kim Jong-un (also "Jong Woon" or "Jong Woong"), in 1983.^[96][98]

After Ko's death, Kim lived with Kim Ok, his third mistress, who had served as his personal secretary since the 1980s. She "virtually acts as North Korea's first lady" and frequently accompanied Kim on his visits to military bases and in meetings with visiting foreign dignitaries. She traveled with Kim Jong Il on a secretive trip to China in January 2006, where she was received by Chinese officials as Kim's wife.^[99]

He reportedly had a younger sister, Kim Kyong-hui (김경희).^[100]