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Eternal General Secretary Kim Jong-il 김정일 | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait of comrade Kim Jong-il | |
| Born | 1941 February 16 |
| Died | 2011 December 17 Pyongyang, DPRK |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
Kim Jong-il (1941 February 16 – 2011 December 17) was the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea from 1997 to 2011 and Eternal General Secretary since his death. He was the son of Eternal President Kim Il-sung and father of current leader Kim Jong-un. The DPRK's constitution describes him as a "peerless patriot and defender of socialist Korea."[1] A poll in 2011 showed that 55% of defectors in South Korea believe that the majority of the DPRK's population supported Kim Jong-il.[2]
Early life
Kim Jong-il was involved with the Democratic Youth League when he was young and published his first works at the age of 23.[3]
Political career
Kim became Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army in 1991 and General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea in 1997.[3]
References
- ↑ Pak Thae-song (2019). Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea: 'Preamble'. Pyongyang.
- ↑ "Socialism and Democracy in the DPRK" (2017-03-28). Write to Rebel. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 LYC Honors Kim Jong-il (2022-01-11). Red Patriot. Archived from the original on 2022-01-11.