Life and Death of Kim Jong Il: Slideshow

Portraits of Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung

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Born in either 1941 or 1942, Kim Jong Il was the son of Kim Il Sung, who in 1948 founded the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea. Kim Il Sung led the single-party state for decades, appointing himself its “Eternal President.” Father and son both fostered a cult of personality that strengthened their control. (Credit: Kim Jae-Hwan/AFP/Getty Images)
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Kim Jong Il Appears Beside Kim Il Sung in 1980

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Kim Jong Il was groomed from a young age to succeed his father. In 1980 he was awarded senior positions within the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and designated the heir apparent. (Credit: AFP/AFP/Getty Images)
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Kim Jong Il and Family in 1981

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Little is known about Kim Jong Il’s personal and family life. He is thought to have four children and reportedly developed a reputation as an idiosyncratic playboy before coming to power. (Credit: Choongang Monthly Magazine/Newsmakers/Getty Images)
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Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung in 1992

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By the early 1990s Kim Jong Il had become commander of North Korea’s large standing army and was known as the country’s “Dear Father.” His critics, including many in South Korea, began describing him as even more autocratic than Kim Il Sung. (Credit: AFP/Getty Images)
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Kim Jong Il After Being Named Supreme Leader in 1998

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After Kim Il Sung died in July 1994, it took Kim Jong Il several years to establish firm control of the government. (Credit: AFP/Getty Images)
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North Koreans Celebrate Kim Jong Il’s Birthday

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Amid famine, natural disasters and dwindling foreign support, living conditions in North Korea deteriorated in the 1990s. Meanwhile, Kim Jong Il lavished money upon his various military programs and reportedly enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle. Stories about his supposed talents reinforced his godlike status. (Credit: Korean Central News Agency/AFP/Getty Images)
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Kim Jong Il and Kim Dae Jung

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In 2000, Kim Jong Il met with South Korean president Kim Dae Jung for diplomatic talks, hinting at reconciliation between the rival nations. (Credit: Pool Yonhap/AFP/Getty Images)
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Kim Jong Il and Madeleine Albright

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Also in 2000, Kim Jong Il participated in a summit with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, part of an American plan to end North Korea’s long-range missile program and ease tensions between the insular communist country and the international community. (Credit: Chien-Min Chung/AFP/Getty Images)
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South Koreans Demonstrate Against Kim Jong Il

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Attempts to improve relations with North Korea stalled in 2002, when Kim Jong Il’s government admitted it had produced nuclear weapons in defiance of a 1994 treaty with the United States. In South Korea and elsewhere, protesters denounced Kim Jong Il’s policies. (Credit: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
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News of North Korean Nuclear Test Breaks

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In 2006, North Korea’s news agency shocked the world by announcing the country had successfully conducted a nuclear test. (Credit: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
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Kim Jong Il and Roh Moo Hyun

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In 2007, Kim Jong Il and South Korean president Roh Moo Hyun signed a peace agreement, signaling another attempt at a diplomatic truce in the region. The relationship between the two countries crumbled after reports that North Korea had deployed missiles and sunk a South Korean ship in 2010. (Credit: Pool/Getty Images)
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Children Honor Kim Jong Il During New York Philharmonic Visit

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The New York Philharmonic gave a concert in North Korea in 2008 during the first cultural visit from the United States since the Korean War. Later that year, reports surfaced that Kim Jong Il had died or was seriously ill. (Credit: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)
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Kim Jong Il in August 2011

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Kim Jong Il became increasingly reclusive in recent years, purportedly after suffering a stroke. Descriptions of his eccentric behavior and extreme paranoia continued to circulate, making him an object of fascination around the world. (Credit: AFP/Getty Images)
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Coverage of Kim Jong Il’s Death in South Korea

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On December 19, 2011, North Korea’s media agency announced that Kim Jong Il had died on December 17. News of his sudden death rattled the region, raising fears of a power struggle and possible military action. As North Koreans mourned, many South Koreans celebrated. (Credit: Chiho Jeong/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Kim Jong Un in 2011

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According to reports, Kim Jong Il’s youngest son, Kim Jong Un, has been designated as his father’s successor. Little is known about the man now said to be in power. (Credit: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images)
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