KIM JONGIL

Kim Jong-Il: translation

(1941– )

Korean politician. Born in Vyatskoye,Khabarovsk Krai, Kim Jong-il is the de facto leader of the Democratic Republic ofNorth Koreaand the son of the country’s first ruler, Kim Il-sung. The younger Kim returned to Korea in 1945 as the country gained independence fromJapan. Benefiting from his father’s cult of personality and totalitarian control of the hermit state, Kim Jong-il, as leader of the Korean Workers’ Party, emerged as the heir apparent in the late 1980s. While not taking the title of president, the younger Kim assumed total control of the country upon his father’s death in 1994.

UnderMikhail GorbachevandBoris Yeltsin, North Korea’s relations with the Soviet Union and Russia degenerated rapidly.Russia’s support of the impoverished Stalinist regime prevented economic and diplomatic relations with its wealthier neighbor, South Korea, and harmed relations with theUnited Statesand Japan; as a result, ties with Kim’s regime were dramatically scaled back, as wasmilitarysupport. However, with the ascendance ofVladimir Putin, Kim was partially rehabilitated.

The two leaders were frequently photographed together, and Kim paid a previously unthinkable visit toMoscowvia theTrans-Siberian Railwayin 2001; he later visited theRussian Far East. Russia, along with the People’s Republic ofChina, has attempted to persuade Kim’s government to abandon its nuclear weapons program, but to little avail. In 2009, reports of Kim’s ill health have led to fears in the region of instability associated with any change in leadership.

See alsoForeign relations.