Kim Il Sung

Eternal President Kim Il Sung
김일성
Official portrait, 1966
1st Supreme Leader of North Korea
In office 9 September 1948 – 8 July 1994
President	See list Kim Tu-bong Choe Yong-gon Himself
Premier	See list Himself Kim Il Pak Song-chol Ri Jong-ok Kang Song-san Ri Kun-mo Yon Hyong-muk Kang Song-san
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Kim Jong Il
General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea
In office 12 October 1966 – 8 July 1994
Secretary	See list Choe Yong-gon Kim Il Pak Kum-chol Ri Hyo-son Kim Kwang-hyop Sok San Ho Pong-hak Kim Yong-ju Pak Yong-guk Kim To-man Ri Kuk-jin Kim Jung-rin Yang Hyong-sop O Jin-u Kim Tong-gyu Han Ik-su Hyon Mu-gwang Kim Jong Il Hwang Jang-yop Kim Yong-nam Kim Hwan Yon Hyong-muk Yun Ki-bok Hong Si-hak
Preceded by	Himself (as Chairman)
Succeeded by	Kim Jong Il
President of North Korea
In office 28 December 1972 – 8 July 1994
Supreme Leader	Himself
Premier	See list Kim Il Pak Song-chol Ri Jong-ok Kang Song-san Ri Kun-mo Yon Hyong-muk Kang Song-san
Vice President	See list Choe Yong-gon Kang Ryang-uk Kim Tong-kyu Kim Il Pak Song-chol Rim Chun-chu Ri Jong-ok Kim Pyong-sik
Preceded by	Office established[a]
Succeeded by	Office abolished[b][c]
Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea
In office 24 June 1949 – 12 October 1966
Vice Chairman	See list Ho Ka-i Pak Hon-yong Kim Il Pak Chang-ok Pak Chong-ae Pak Kum-chol Pak Yong-bin Choe Yong-gon Jong Il-yong Kim Chang-man Ri Hyo-son
Preceded by	Kim Tu-bong
Succeeded by	Himself (as General Secretary)
4th Premier of North Korea
In office 9 September 1948 – 28 December 1972
President	Kim Tu-bong Choe Yong-gon
First Vice Premier	Kim Il
Vice Premier	See list Pak Hon-yong Hong Myong-hui Kim Chaek Kim Il Jong Il-ryong Nam Il Pak Ui-wan Jong Jun-thaek Kim Kwang-hyop Kim Chang-man Ri Jong-ok Ri Ju-yon Pak Song-chol Choe Yong-jin
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Kim Il
Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army
In office 5 July 1950 – 24 December 1991
Preceded by	Choe Yong-gon
Succeeded by	Kim Jong Il
Personal details
Born	Kim Song Ju (1912-04-15)15 April 1912 Namni, Heijō, Heian'nan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan
Died	8 July 1994(1994-07-08) (aged 82) Hyangsan Residence, Hyangsan County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea
Resting place	Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, Pyongyang
Nationality	North Korean
Political party	Workers' Party of Korea
Other political affiliations	Workers' Party of North Korea (1946–1949) Chinese Communist Party (1931–1946)
Spouses	Kim Jong Suk ​ ​ (m. 1941; died 1949)​ Kim Song-ae ​ (m. 1952)​
Children	7, including Kim Jong Il, Kim Man-il, Kim Kyong-hui and Kim Pyong Il[2]
Parents	Kim Hyong Jik Kang Pan Suk
Relatives	Kim family
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	North Korea Soviet Union Communist China
Branch/service	Korean People's Army Ground Force Red Army Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army
Years of service	1941–1945 1948–1994
Rank	Taewonsu
Unit	88th Separate Rifle Brigade, Red Army
Commands	All (Supreme Commander)
Battles/wars	World War II Korean War
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl	김일성
Hancha	金日成[3]
Revised Romanization	Gim Ilseong
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Ilsŏng
Birth name
Chosŏn'gŭl	김성주
Hancha	金成柱[3]
Revised Romanization	Gim Seongju
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Sŏngju
Central institution membership 1980–1994: Member, Presidium of the Political Bureau of the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea 1970–1980: Member, Political Committee of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea 1966–1994: Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea 1966–1970: Member, Standing Committee of the Political Committee of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea 1961–1970: Chairman, Political Committee of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea 1956–1961: Member, Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea 1948–1994: Deputy, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Supreme People's Assembly 1946–1956: Member, Political Committee of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea 1946–1994: Member, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Other offices held 1982–1994: Chairman, Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea 1972–1992: Chairman, National Defense Commission of the Central People's Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea 1970–1982: Chairman, Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea 1992–1993: Chairman, National Defense Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea 1947–1948: Chairman, People's Committee of North Korea 1946–1949: Vice Chairman, Central Committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea 1946–1947: Chairman, Provisional People's Committee of North Korea 1945–1946: Chairman, North Korea Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea

Kim Il Sung^[d] (/kɪm ɪlˈsʌŋ, -ˈsʊŋ/;^[4] Korean: 김일성, Korean pronunciation: [kimils͈ʌŋ]; born Kim Sung Ju;^[e][5] 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician, revolutionary, and military leader. He founded the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, which he led as Supreme Leader from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. Afterwards, he was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Il and was declared Eternal President.

He held the posts of the Premier from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to 1994. He was the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) from 1949 to 1994 (titled as chairman from 1949 to 1966 and as general secretary after 1966). Coming to power after the end of Japanese rule over Korea in 1945 following Japan's surrender in World War II, he authorized the invasion of South Korea in 1950, triggering an intervention in defense of South Korea by the United Nations led by the United States. Following the military stalemate in the Korean War, a ceasefire was signed in July 1953. He was the third-longest serving non-royal head of state/government in the 20th century, in office for more than 45 years.

Under his leadership, North Korea was established as a totalitarian socialist personalist dictatorship with a centrally planned economy. It had very close political and economic relations with the Soviet Union. By the 1960s, North Korea had a slightly higher standard of living than the South, which was suffering from political chaos and economic crises. The situation was reversed in the 1970s, as a newly stable South Korea became an economic powerhouse which was fueled by Japanese and American investment, military aid and internal economic development, while North Korea stagnated and then declined during the same period.^[6] Differences emerged between North Korea and the Soviet Union; chief among them was Kim Il Sung's philosophy of Juche, which focused on Korean nationalism and self-reliance. Despite this, the country received funds, subsidies and aid from the USSR and the Eastern Bloc until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.

The resulting loss of economic aid negatively affected North Korea's economy, contributing to widespread famine in 1994. During this period, North Korea also remained critical of the United States defense force's presence in the region, which it considered imperialist, having seized the American ship USS Pueblo in 1968. This was part of an infiltration and subversion campaign to reunify the peninsula under North Korea's rule. Kim outlived his allies, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong, by over four and almost two decades, respectively, and remained in power during the terms of office of six South Korean Presidents and ten United States Presidents. Known as the Great Leader (Suryong), he established a far-reaching personality cult which dominates domestic politics in North Korea. At the 6th WPK Congress in 1980, his oldest son Kim Jong Il was elected to be a Presidium member and chosen to be his successor, thus establishing the Kim dynasty.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).