Kim Il-Sung is the founder and first president of North Korea’s Democratic People’s Republic. Kim was born into a tiny peasant family, but during the Japanese takeover of his homeland, his family was forced to emigrate. Kim grew radicalized after coming to China and joined forces dedicated to opposing the occupation. He was active in armed resistance action as early as he was a teenager, and as a young man, he was promoted to a leadership position. He joined the Soviet Union in World War II, where he trained and fought alongside Soviet forces against the Japanese, driven by anti-Japanese feelings. He finally ascended through the ranks of the Soviet military to become a general. He was in a good position to take over as leader of his newly liberated country at the end of the war. Taking advantage of the situation, Kim and his men quickly took control of the entire peninsula, although they were met with tough resistance from international countries. The peninsula was split in half after a long and bloody conflict, and he became the unchallenged ruler of the northern part. He quickly established himself as the shining head of a new country by combining Communist and Marxist theories with his own brand of Korean self-reliance. The ultimate leader died, leaving his country in the hands of a virtual monarchy, after dominating with an iron grip for half a century.
Childhood and Adolescence
Kim Song-ju was born in Mangyondae, Heian-nando, Japanese Korea, on April 15, 1912. Kang Pan-skis the name of his mother, according to the records.
Many information regarding his childhood and family were obfuscated throughout his rule due to massive propaganda. He stated, on the other hand, that he was reared in a Presbyterian household and that his maternal grandfather was a minister.
His family escaped avoiding being persecuted by the Japanese conquerors in 1920. Their family was sent to Manchuria, which is now part of China.
The Career of Kim
Much of Kim’s early career has been hidden behind the propaganda. However, it is thought that he was an outspoken anti-Japanese campaigner since his early adolescence.
He founded the ‘Down With Imperialism Union’ in October 1926. The claimed goal of this organization was to combat Japanese imperialism. He joined the ‘South Manchurian Communist Youth Association’ three years later.
He joined the ‘Communist Party of China’ in 1932. Manchuria, where Kim lived at the time, was still under Japanese administration.
He enlisted in the ‘Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army’ in 1935. This was a guerilla Communist Party breakaway. In the same year, he changed his surname to Kim Jong-Il. This is the name by which the rest of the world and his people would subsequently refer to him.
As Japanese forces advanced in 1940, Kim and his army were forced to retreat. To flee, they crossed the border into the Soviet Union. The Soviet army quickly began training him.
He was a major in the ‘Soviet Red Army’ till the conclusion of the war. The Soviet Union declared war on Japan in 1945.
The ‘Soviet Red Army’ entered Pyongyang on August 15, 1945, and liberated it from the Japanese. Stalin, the Soviet Union’s leader, quickly picked Kim to rule the newly independent Korea.
He was elected head of the ‘Interim People’s Committee on February 8, 1946. As a result, Kim became Korea’s de facto leader.
On September 9, 1948, he declared the ‘Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’ to be established. North Korea’s official name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
He ordered his forces to attack South Korea on June 25, 1950, and take the entire peninsula. By October 19, however, American and South Korean troops had encircled Pyongyang and forced him to flee to China.
Fighting between North and South Korea lasted until 1953 when a ceasefire was signed. The arrangement is still in effect today.
He created ‘Juche,’ his own religion and political ideology, in 1955. Political independence, economic self-sufficiency, and defense self-reliance are the three pillars on which his ideology is built.
The ‘USS Pueblo’ and her crew, an American Navy warship, were successfully seized by North Korean forces in 1968. The kidnapping was part of his plan to topple the governing government, which was backed by the United States.
He ordered the implementation of a new constitution in 1972, making him the country’s permanent president. Kim had already served as an unelected leader.
He was successful in convincing the United Nations to accept his country as a member nation in 1991. In the same year, he placed his son, whom he had selected as his successor, as head of the military.
He reached a series of agreements with South Korea in 1992. A non-aggression treaty and economic exchange were among them. He reversed his former view a year later. North Korea severed all diplomatic ties with South Korea.
Kim initiated a nuclear power development program in 1994. He also ordered that work on a ballistic nuclear missile be started.
Kim died on July 8, 1994, just before a scheduled meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.
Kim’s Major Projects
Since September 9, 1948, Kim Jong-Il has been the Eternal President of the Republic of North Korea, a role he has held posthumously. The dictatorial leader created the ‘Juche’ political ideology, which was based on the principles of Russian dictator Joseph Stalin.
Personal History and Legacy
Before World War II, Kim Jong-Il and Kim Jong-suk exchanged nuptial vows. In 1949, she passed away. This union produced two sons, one of them, Kim Jong-Il, succeeded his father as North Korean president. Kim Jong-un, Kim’s grandson, is North Korea’s current leader.
In 1952, he married his second wife, Kim Sung-ae. According to reports, they had three children.
Kim Hyon-name is reported to be one of this notorious dictator’s many mistresses, with an unknown number of children from these unions.
Estimated Net worth
Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s supreme leader, has a net worth of $5 billion. Despite the fact that there is less information about Kim Jong-un than there is about other international leaders, he has gotten a lot of media interest.
Marshal and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, and an overall commander in chief are among Kim Jong-titles uns in North Korea. He is frequently referred to as “Dear Leader” in North Korean propaganda.
Trivia
Despite the fact that he died in 1994, this great leader is still officially the president of North Korea. A rainbow lighting above a sacred mountain, according to state propaganda, heralded his birth.
This autocratic monarch gave his doctors orders to keep him alive until he was 100 years old. As a result, they administered numerous blood transfusions to him from healthy young men and women.