North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Il
Kim Jong-Il was often said to be raving mad. He was eccentric and his government was extremely secretive and brutal to dissidents, but experts say Kim was bright, clear-headed, politically astute, and as sane as any leader with unchecked power. He drove trendy Mazdas, preferred Hennessey cognac, and wore elevator shoes to hide his short stature (without the shoes, he stood about 5'2").
As a young man, "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-Il lived a playful lifestyle, and many Koreans assumed that he would never be disciplined enough to succeed his father, Kim Il Sung, and lead his nation. Kim Jong Il studied political science at a university which was named for his father. He majored in Marxist political economy and minored in philosophy and military science. He accompanied his father on tours of field guidance and rose rapidly through Communist Party ranks. He was designated his father's official successor in 1974, and took over power upon the elder Kim's death in 1994. Just as Kim Il Sung was known as the "Great Leader," Kim Jong Il was hailed in the North Korean media as the "fearless leader".
Much of Kim Jong Il's persona is based on a cult of personality, meaning that legend and official North Korean government accounts describe his life, character, and actions in ways that promote and legitimize his leadership. Examples include claims that his birth was foretold by a swallow, the appearance of a double rainbow over Mount Paekdu, and a new star in the heavens. He is known to personally manage the country's affairs. He is said to be arrogant and self-centered in policy decisions, openly rejecting criticism or opinions that differ from his. He is suspicious of nearly all of those who surround him and volatile in his emotions. There are many stories of his eccentricities, the lifts in his shoes and pompadour hairstyle that make him appear taller, and his fear of flying. Some stories can be verified while others are most likely exaggerated.
His
early reign was marred by a three-year famine which killed perhaps two million
citizens. Record-breaking floods in 1995 and 1996
followed by drought in 1997 crippled North Korea's food production. With only
18 percent of its land suitable for farming in the best of times, North Korea
began experiencing a devastating famine. Worried about his position in power,
Kim Jong Il instituted the Military First policy, which prioritized national
resources to the military, so the military would be pacified and remain in his
control.
In 1994, the Clinton administration and North Korea
agreed to a framework designed to freeze and eventually dismantle North Korea's
nuclear weapons program. In exchange, the United States would provide
assistance in producing two power-generating nuclear reactors and supplying
fuel oil and other economic aid. In 2000, the presidents of North Korea and
South Korea met for diplomatic talks and agreed to promote reconciliation and
economic cooperation between the two countries. The agreement allowed families
from both countries to reunite and signaled a move toward increased trade and
investment. For a time, it appeared that North Korea was reentering the
international community.
Then
in 2002, U.S. intelligence agencies suspected North Korea was enriching uranium
or building the facilities to do so, presumably for making nuclear weapons.
Finally, in 2003, Kim Jong Il's government admitted to having produced nuclear
weapons for security purposes. In 2006, North Korea's Central News Agency
announced North Korea had successfully conducted an underground nuclear bomb
test. On April 13th, 2012, North Korea
launched a rocket which failed less than two minutes into the flight. It said
the launch was to put a satellite into orbit, but much of the international
community saw it as a cover up for testing its ballistic missile technology. Reclusive North Korea is currently believed to be
developing a long-range missile with a range of 6,700 km (4,160) miles) or more
aimed at hitting the United States due to its dealings with South Korea. North Korea is staggeringly poor. Under Kim, internet access was forbidden and irrelevant, since computers and telephones, or even such modern amenities as refrigerators, stoves, and telephones were not available to ordinary citizens. Satellite imagery showed North Korea as utterly dark at night, as the nation's electrical grid remained nonexistent outside military command centers. Access to ordinary writing paper was severely restricted. Television was available only to well-connected insiders or in public community centers, and there was no need to change the channel, as North Korea's one broadcast network was all that was allowed, and it was all propaganda.
According to North Korea's rigidly controlled media, the nation never experienced famine or poverty, and adoration for Kim Jong Il was virtually unanimous. In news accounts, the only mention of dissent was when disloyal citizens were arrested and never heard from again. In one well-known example of "news coverage", after a deadly explosion on a munitions train as it moved through a densely populated area, the official Korean Central News Agency reported that people dashed into their homes to rescue their portraits of the "Dear Leader" from their walls, even before looking for their own family members.
In June 2009, Kim named his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, as his Great Successor. Virtually nothing is publicly known about him, except that he was reportedly educated in Switzerland. In September 2010, Kim Jong-un was appointed General Secretary of the ruling Workers' Party, and given the rank of four-star general in the North Korean Army, although he had no prior experience in the military.
On December 18, 2011, the "Dear Leader" was reported to have died on a train from heart failure, the previous day (or perhaps one day before that). Unusual for the death of a head of state, foreign dignitaries would not be invited to the funeral of a man personally responsible for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of deaths.
http://www.nndb.com/people/261/000024189/
http://www.biography.com/people/kim-jong-il-201050?page=1
Other Interesting Facts
*Kijong-Dong is a propaganda city that was
originally built in the 1950s by Kim Jong Il’s father right on the border, this
was to display the North’s superiority to the South and also to encourage
people to defect. It has no actual residents, but an extensive effort has been
put forth to simulate a functioning city, including lights on set timers, and
street sweepers to create an illusion of activity. The use of modern telescopes
has revealed that the units lack window glass, and some buildings are just
concrete shells that don’t even have interior rooms. The city also houses the
world’s largest flagpole, complete with a 300lb. North Korean flag. * In preparation for the World Festival of Youth and Students in 1989, Kim Jong Il had disabled residents removed from Pyongyang. Disabled and short people were deported from his capital. The government also distributed pamphlets advertising a wonder drug that would increase the height of short people. Those who responded to the pamphlets were sent away to different uninhabited islands, along with the disabled, in an attempt to rid the next generation of their supposedly substandard genes.
*Shin Sang-ok, a prominent South Korean filmmaker, was kidnapped by Kim Jong Il, sent to prison, and eventually forced to make a film called Pulgasari, a communist propaganda version of Godzilla. After Shin and his wife managed to escape North Korea while location scouting in Austria, Kim Jong Il shelved Pulgasari and all of Shin’s other work. Kim Jong Il has since given specific instruction to his Ministry of Culture and his communist filmmakers: “Make more cartoons.”
http://listverse.com/2010/05/30/top-10-crazy-facts-about-kim-jong-il/
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