Kim Jong-il, the Lodestar of the Korean people

North Korea announced on Monday the death of Dear Leader Kim Jong-il, who passed away on December 17 at the age of 69. Aired by the DPRK Central Television Network and relayed by South Korean channels, the announcement says that Kim Jong-il died of “mental and physical strain” during a train travel around his country that he had undertaken with the purpose of “providing leadership in the localities.”

According to the official historiography taught to all schoolchildren in North Korea, Kim Jong-il was born on February 16, 1942, at his father Kim Il-sung’s secret camp on the sacred Baekdu Mountain near the border with China.

Kim Jong-il made attempts to implement economic reforms in order to solve the food problem and improve standards of living. Kim Il-sung had promised his countrymen that “each of you will live in a house with a tiled roof, wear silk clothes and have rice and meat soup every day.”

Before 2000, Kim Jong-il never traveled abroad. Neither did he hold meetings with foreign heads of state. He paid his first unofficial visit to China on May 29 through 31, 2000.

There is no easily accessible information about Kim Jong-il’s family and children. However, foreign publications mention three sons, one of whom, Kim Jong-un, was made a member of the ruling party’s top leadership and appointed Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission. He has the rank of General. Earlier on Monday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) referred to Kim Jong-un as the Great Successor. Photo: The Kim family.

Kim Jong-il’s funeral is scheduled for December 28. The funeral organizing committee is headed by one of his sons, Kim Jong-un. The official mourning ceremonies will begin in Pyongyang on December 29. A special point in the funeral communication mentions a decision not to receive delegations from abroad.