The North Korean famine ( Korean : 조선기근 ), also known as the Arduous March ( 고난의 행군 ), was a period of mass starvation together with a general economic crisis from 1994 to 1998 in North Korea . During this time there was an increase in defection from North Korea which peaked towards the end of the famine period.
148-458: The famine stemmed from a variety of factors. Economic mismanagement and the loss of Soviet support caused food production and imports to decline rapidly. A series of floods and droughts exacerbated the crisis. The North Korean government and its centrally planned system proved too inflexible to effectively curtail the disaster. North Korea attempted to obtain aid and commercial opportunities, but failed to receive initial attention. Estimates of
296-515: A "Military-First" policy to strengthen the country and reinforce the regime. On the national scale, the Japanese Foreign Ministry acknowledges that this has resulted in a positive growth rate for the country since 1996, with the implementation of "landmark socialist-type market economic practices" in 2002, keeping the North afloat despite a continued dependency on foreign aid for food. In
444-589: A United Nations resolution condemning the invasion. Following the footsteps of Russia, North Korea became the third country (the second being Syria ) to recognise the independence of the breakaway states of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics in Eastern Ukraine . In response to the recognition, Ukraine terminated diplomatic ties with North Korea . In August, the New York Post reported that North Korea had offered 100,000 troops to help Donbas , but
592-413: A cerebral hemorrhage , and that Beijing dispatched five military doctors at the request of Pyongyang. Kim will require a long period of rest and rehabilitation before he fully recovers and has complete command of his limbs again, as with typical stroke victims". Japan's Mainichi Shimbun claimed Kim had occasionally lost consciousness since April. Japan's Tokyo Shimbun on 15 September, added that Kim
740-456: A 1997 UNICEF delegation, hospitals were clean but wards were devoid of even the most rudimentary supplies and equipment; sphygmomanometers , thermometers, scales, kidney dishes, spatulas, IV giving sets, etc. The mission saw numerous patients being treated with homemade beer bottle IV sets, which were clearly not sterile. There was an absence of ORS (oral rehydration solution) and even the most basic drugs such as analgesics and antibiotics. With
888-637: A DPRK weapons system which includes the Bulsae-4 ATGM was seen to destroy a British-supplied AS-90 self-propelled artillery system in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. According to at least one observer, "the identification of the first North Korean vehicle in Ukraine marked a turning point in Pyongyang's involvement in the conflict." It was alleged by another report that a non-monetary swap of DPRK guns for Russian food
1036-543: A French neurosurgeon was aboard a plane for Beijing, en route to North Korea. Further, Kim Sung-ho, director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed parliamentary session in Seoul that "Kim appeared to be recovering quickly enough to start performing his daily duties". The Dong-A Ilbo newspaper reported "a serious problem" with Kim's health. Japan's Fuji Television network reported that Kim's eldest son, Kim Jong-nam , traveled to Paris to hire
1184-563: A Russian official said Moscow and Pyongyang have agreed to discuss the creation of advanced development zones ( ru:территория опережающего развития ) in Russia's Far East and North Korea. In May 2016 the Central Bank of Russia ordered all Russian banks to halt financial dealings with North Korean agencies, organizations and individuals on the UN Security Council sanctions list. The move
1332-565: A bomb in the case of the second, saying the operation was ordered by Kim personally. On 24 December 1991, Kim was also named Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army . Defence Minister Oh Jin Wu , one of Kim Il Sung's most loyal subordinates, engineered Kim's acceptance by the Army as the next leader of North Korea, despite his lack of military service. In 1992, Kim Il Sung publicly stated that his son
1480-472: A breakdown on one of the Yalu River 's large hydro turbines) created major shortages throughout the country at that time, severely cutting back railway transportation (which was almost entirely dependent on electric power), which in turn resulted in coal supply shortages to the coal-fueled power stations which supplied the remaining 20% of power in the country. North Korea's vulnerability to the floods and famine
1628-428: A clear legal foundation for international business. The North Korean government also missed the opportunity for the short-term option to borrow from abroad to finance food imports after defaulting on foreign loans in the 1970s. Inadequate medical supplies, water and environmental contamination, frequent power failures, and outdated training led to a health care crisis that added to the overall devastation. According to
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#17328555612541776-470: A closed-economic model caused the regime to abandon the possibility of engaging in international markets and importing food and instead restrict demand such as carrying out a "Let's eat two meals a day" campaign in 1991. Attempts to increase exports and earn foreign exchange through the Rajin Sonbong free trade zone in 1991 were unsuccessful – it was located in the most isolated part of North Korea and lacked
1924-489: A heavy snowfall and starvation, the red flag fluttering in front of the rank". As part of this state campaign, uses of words such as 'famine' and 'hunger' were banned because they implied government failure. Citizens who said deaths were due to the famine could be in serious trouble with the authorities . A special group (the Simhwajo) was set up to purge the citizens responsible. In North Korea, people are required to call
2072-517: A known earlier recording. It was also noted that Kim did not appear in public for the Olympic torch relay in Pyongyang on 28 April 2008. The question had reportedly "baffled foreign intelligence agencies for years". On 9 September 2008, various sources reported that after he did not show up that day for a military parade celebrating North Korea's 60th anniversary, United States intelligence agencies believed Kim might be "gravely ill" after having suffered
2220-465: A letter "I wish you achievement in your responsible work for building a powerful Russia", expressing belief that the traditional bilateral relations of friendship and cooperation would grow stronger. In May 2012 Russia appointed Alexandr Timonin as the new ambassador to North Korea. The latter presented his credentials to Kim Yong-nam at the Mansudae Assembly Hall . On June 27, 2012, during
2368-456: A local processor and it would then be delivered directly to North Korean citizens. Agricultural production increased from about 2.7 million metric tons in 1997 to 4.2 million metric tons in 2004. In 2008, food shortages continued to be a problem in North Korea, although less so than in the mid to late 1990s. Flooding in 2007 and reductions in food aid exacerbated the problem. In 2011, during
2516-686: A meeting with Madeleine Albright , he agreed to a moratorium on missile construction. In 2002, Kim's government admitted to having produced nuclear weapons since the 1994 agreement. Kim's regime argued the secret production was necessary for security purposes – citing the presence of United States-owned nuclear weapons in South Korea and the new tensions with the United States under President George W. Bush . On 9 October 2006, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency announced that it had successfully conducted an underground nuclear test . Kim
2664-704: A meeting with President Putin, and also met a number of Russian parliamentarians and state officials in Moscow en route to the Games in Sochi. These included Valentina Matvienko and Ilyas Umakhanov of the Russian Federation Council, Mikhail Margelov , the chair of the International Affairs Committee of the same body, and Vice Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov . Korean Central Television (KCTV) also introduced
2812-547: A military parade for the KPA's 60th anniversary and said: "Glory to the officers and soldiers of the heroic Korean People's Army!". These words were followed by a loud applause by the crowd at Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square where the parade was held. Kim was named Chairman of the National Defence Commission on 9 April 1993, making him day-to-day commander of the armed forces. According to defector Hwang Jang Yop ,
2960-482: A neurosurgeon for his father, and showed footage where the surgeon boarded flight CA121 bound for Pyongyang from Beijing on 24 October. The French weekly Le Point identified him as Francois-Xavier Roux, neurosurgery director of Paris' Sainte-Anne Hospital, but Roux himself stated he was in Beijing for several days and not North Korea. On 19 December 2011, Roux confirmed that Kim suffered a debilitating stroke in 2008 and
3108-595: A number of agreements were signed, including the North Korean–Russian Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership . The partnership agreement pledged mutual aid and strengthening cooperation in security, trade, and cultural ties, including a mutual defence clause. This agreement signifies the closest Russia-North Korea relationship since the Soviet Union, with North Korea supporting Russia's actions in Ukraine and plans for military cooperation. In June 2024
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#17328555612543256-538: A phone conversation with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev , where Medvedev told him that Russia would work with Seoul on a new U.N. Security Council resolution and to revive international talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. On 15 June 2009, China and Russia supported the UN sanctions on North Korea . However, the two countries stressed that they did not support the use of force. Permanent Representative of Russia to
3404-533: A plan with Mun Jae-chol , acting chairman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries on 2009–2010 of cultural and scientific exchange. After the North Korean nuclear test on 25 May 2009 , North Korea's relations with China and Russia changed. Russia, fearing that North Korea's success could lead to a nuclear war, joined China , France , Japan , South Korea , United Kingdom and
3552-417: A population of homeless, migrant children known as Kotjebi . The exact number of deaths during the acute phase of the crisis, from 1994 to 1998, is uncertain. According to the researcher Andrei Lankov , both the extreme high and low ends of the estimates are considered inaccurate. In 2001 and 2007, independent groups of researchers have estimated that between 600,000 and 1 million people, or 3 to 5 percent of
3700-444: A result of premature death), 12 percent of the population in one affected region. Taking those results as the upper limit and extrapolating across the entire North Korean population across the country's provinces produces an upper limit of 2,000,000 famine-related deaths. Andrew Natsios and others estimated 2–3 million deaths. According to research by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2011, the likely range of excess deaths between 1993 and 2000
3848-495: A result of the new policy, the Kaesong Industrial Park was constructed in 2003 just north of the demilitarized zone . In 1994, North Korea and the United States signed an Agreed Framework which was designed to freeze and eventually dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program in exchange for aid in producing two power-generating nuclear reactors and the assurance that it would not be invaded again. In 2000, after
3996-399: A seven-day visit to Russia. During his trip, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, delivering a letter to him from Kim Jong Un, and with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. In April 2019, Kim travelled by armored train to Vladivostok to meet Putin . In February 2022, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine . On 2 March, North Korea was one of the five countries to vote against
4144-515: A sign of disloyalty. According to Hwang, Kim Jong Il personally directed even minor details of state affairs, such as the size of houses for party secretaries and the delivery of gifts to his subordinates. On 8 July 1994, Kim Il Sung died at the age of 82 from a heart attack. Kim Jong Il had been his father's designated successor as early as 1974, named commander-in-chief in 1991, and became Supreme Leader upon his father's death. He officially took over his father's old post as General Secretary of
4292-419: A son or daughter was serving in the armed forces". Women suffered significantly due to the gendered structure of North Korean society, which deemed women responsible for obtaining food, water and fuel for their families, which often included extended families. Simultaneously, women had the highest participation rate in the workforce of any country in the world, calculated at 89%. Therefore, women had to remain in
4440-436: A stroke. He had last been seen in public a month earlier. A former CIA official said earlier reports of a health crisis were likely accurate. North Korean media remained silent on the issue. An Associated Press report said analysts believed Kim had been supporting moderates in the foreign ministry, while North Korea's powerful military was against so-called "Six-Party" negotiations with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and
4588-452: A subsequent best-selling book, The True Character of Kim Jong Il , Shigemura cited apparently unnamed people close to Kim's family along with Japanese and South Korean intelligence sources, claiming they confirmed Kim's diabetes took a turn for the worse early in 2000 and from then until his supposed death three-and-a-half years later he was using a wheelchair. Shigemura moreover claimed a voiceprint analysis of Kim speaking in 2004 did not match
1990s North Korean famine - Misplaced Pages Continue
4736-686: A visit to North Korea, former US President Jimmy Carter reported that one third of children in North Korea were malnourished and stunted in their growth because of a lack of food. He also said that the North Korean government had reduced daily food intake from 5,900 to 2,900 kJ (1,400 to 700 kcal) in 2011. Some scholars believed that North Korea was purposefully exaggerating the food shortage, aiming to receive additional food supplies for its planned mass-celebrations of Kim Il Sung's 100th birthday in 2012 by means of foreign aid. Escaped North Koreans reported in September 2010 that starvation had returned to
4884-500: A white winter parka, Kim stood in front of trees with autumn foliage and a red-and-white banner. The Times questioned the authenticity of at least one of these photos. In November 2008, Japan's TBS TV network reported that Kim had suffered a second stroke in October, which "affected the movement of his left arm and leg and also his ability to speak". However, South Korea's intelligence agency rejected this report. In response to
5032-519: Is also said to have received English language education in Malta in the early 1970s on his infrequent holidays there as a guest of Prime Minister Dom Mintoff . The elder Kim had meanwhile remarried and had another son, Kim Pyong Il . Since 1988, Kim Pyong Il has served in a series of North Korean embassies in Europe and was the North Korean ambassador to Poland . Foreign commentators suspect that Kim Pyong Il
5180-460: Is controlled by the government." Kim's government was accused of " crimes against humanity " for its alleged culpability in creating and prolonging the 1990s famine . Human Rights Watch characterized him as a dictator and accused him of human rights violations . Amnesty International condemned him for leaving 'millions of North Koreans mired in poverty' and detaining hundreds of thousands of people in prison camps. Kim Jong Il claimed that
5328-468: Is that the people's adherence to Kim's cult of personality was solely out of respect for Kim Il Sung or out of fear of punishment for failure to pay homage. Media and government sources from outside North Korea generally support this view, while North Korean government sources aver that it was genuine hero worship. The song " No Motherland Without You ", sung by the KPA State Merited Choir ,
5476-415: The 2006 North Korean missile test . In October 2006, Russia voted for Resolution 1718 imposing an embargo on technologies supporting missile and nuclear programs, as well as luxury goods. In June 2009, President Dmitry Medvedev supported more intense sanctions and deployed a S-400 air defense system to their border. In April 2009, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited North Korea and signed
5624-785: The Japanese colony of Korea in 1945; by agreement with the U.S., the 38th parallel was the dividing line with Moscow in charge to the north and Washington to the South. North Korea came under the control of the Soviet Civil Administration and People's Committee of North Korea from 1945 to 1948. The Soviet 64th Fighter Aviation Corps took part in the Korean War where they provided North Korea and China with badly needed pilots. The 1961 DPRK-Soviet Union Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance underpinned cooperation during
5772-612: The Kim dynasty , and he assumed important posts in party and army organs. Kim succeeded his father and founder of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, following his death in 1994. Kim was the General Secretary of the WPK , WPK Presidium , Chairman of the National Defence Commission (NDC) of North Korea and the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army (KPA), the fourth-largest standing army in
5920-591: The Port of Najin and the Port of Dunay were linked by a new shipping route because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine made it profitable for North Korea to ship arms (chiefly artillery shells) to the AFRF . Shin Wonsik , Defense Minister of South Korea, alleged that staff at his ministry had detected "at least 10,000 shipping containers" shipped from North Korea to Russia. In July 2024,
6068-466: The Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s, as North Korea tried to maintain good relations with both countries. Relations between the two countries continued after the dissolution of the Soviet Union . The relationship regained importance after Vladimir Putin was elected President of Russia in 2000. Kim Jong Un also accepted an invitation to visit Russia in mid-2015. The two states share a border along
1990s North Korean famine - Misplaced Pages Continue
6216-545: The Soviet era . During the meeting, Kim once again gave his support for Russia’s “sacred fight” against the west, expressing his “...support for all the measures taken by the Russian government, and [he] takes this opportunity again to affirm that [he] will always be with Russia." When asked if Russia would help North Korea build satellites, presumably in return for ammunition, Putin said “that’s why [they] came here." Kim's trip to Russia
6364-528: The United States in starting a resolution that could include new sanctions. The Russian news agencies were outraged when North Korea threatened to attack neighboring South Korea after it joined a U.S. led plan to check vessels suspected of carrying equipment for weapons of mass destruction. Another concern was that the nuclear test can be a threat to the security of Russia's far east regions which border North Korea. South Korean president Lee Myung-bak had
6512-668: The United States , Japan , the European Union and other countries. In 2002, North Korea requested that food supplies no longer be delivered. In 2005, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported that famine conditions were in imminent danger of returning to North Korea, and the government was reported to have mobilized millions of city-dwellers in order to help rice farmers. In 2012, the WFP reported that food would be sent to North Korea as soon as possible. The food would first be processed by
6660-614: The funeral of Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito in May 1980. After the dissolution of the USSR , the new Russian government under Boris Yeltsin refused to provide support for North Korea, favoring South Korea instead. The first meeting of the Inter-governmental Commission for Trade, Economic, and Scientific-Technical Cooperation between Russia and DPRK was held in the spring of 1996 led by Deputy Premier Vitali Ignatenko. This
6808-502: The six-party talks . In August 2011, ahead of Kim Jong Il's visit to Russia, the Kremlin said that it was providing food assistance including some 50,000 tons of wheat. A few days after Kim's visit the presidential envoy to Russia's Far East, Viktor Ishayev , said wheat deliveries would begin via the town border of Khasan in September. A week later a Russian economic delegation , led by Minister of Regional Development Viktor Basargin ,
6956-484: The 1980s, the Soviet Union embarked on political and economic reform . It began to demand that North Korea repay the Soviet Union for all of the past and current aid which it sent to North Korea – amounts which North Korea could not repay. By 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved , ending all aid and trade concessions, such as cheap oil. Without Soviet aid, the flow of imports to the North Korean agricultural sector ended, and
7104-423: The 1990s, primarily due to mismanagement. In addition, North Korea experienced severe floods in the mid-1990s, exacerbated by poor land management. This, compounded with the fact that only 18% of North Korea is arable land and the country's inability to import the goods necessary to sustain industry, led to a severe famine and left North Korea economically devastated. Faced with a country in decay, Kim adopted
7252-484: The 60th anniversary of the country with general secretary Kim Jong Il, we celebrated on our own". Song Il Ho, North Korea's ambassador said, "We see such reports as not only worthless, but rather as a conspiracy plot". Seoul's Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that "the South Korean embassy in Beijing had received an intelligence report that Kim collapsed on 22 August". The New York Times reported on 9 September that Kim
7400-695: The Central Committee already appointed him successor to Kim Il Sung in 1974. The first public confirmation of Kim Jong Il's position as successor came in 1977, when in a booklet he was designated as Kim Il Sung's only heir. By the time of the Sixth Party Congress in October 1980, Kim's control of the Party operation was complete. He was given senior posts in the Presidium , the Military Commission and
7548-495: The Cold War. Moscow under Mikhail Gorbachev began to reduce aid to the North after 1985 in favor of reconciliation with South Korea . Military equipment continued to be provided until a last batch of MiG-29s was delivered in 1989. Kim Il Sung visited the USSR five times, with the last time being in 1986 during the early Gorbachev era. He also met with Soviet officials abroad, including with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev during
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#17328555612547696-937: The Day of the Sun on April 15. One report by the Tokyo Shimbun in April 2012 claimed that since the death of Kim Jong Il in December 2011, around 20,000 people had starved to death in South Hwanghae Province . Another report by the Japanese Asia Press agency in January 2013 claimed that in North and South Hwanghae provinces more than 10,000 people had died of famine. Other international news agencies have begun circulating stories of cannibalism . On
7844-439: The North Korean announcement that it agreed to introduce a moratorium on nuclear tests, long-range missile launches and uranium enrichment , Russia's foreign ministry said, "We welcome North Korea's decision to impose a moratorium on testing nuclear weapons and launching long-range ballistic missiles, and enriching uranium". After Putin won the 2012 Russian presidential election , Kim Jong Un congratulated him, writing in
7992-517: The North Korean government system became even more centralized and autocratic during the 1980s and 1990s under Kim than it had been under his father. In one example explained by Hwang, although Kim Il Sung required his ministers to be loyal to him, he nonetheless and frequently sought their advice during decision-making. In contrast, Kim Jong Il demanded absolute obedience and agreement from his ministers and party officials with no advice or compromise, and he viewed any slight deviation from his thinking as
8140-770: The North Korean official that Pyongyang's November 23 artillery strike on Yeonpyeong island "resulted in loss of life" and "deserves condemnation". On October 18, 2011, Russian and North Korean officials marked the 63rd anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties in an event at the North Korean embassy in Moscow . The evening's event was attended by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin . A delegation of Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) visited Pyongyang from December 12 to 14, 2011. On December 13 (Tuesday) Rosaviatsia director Neradiko Alexandr and Kang Ki-sop, director of General Bureau of Civil Aviation signed an agreement on civilian search and rescue between Russia and North Korea. Following
8288-605: The North Korean state's refusal to allow donor representatives to supervise the distribution of their aid inside North Korea. Such supervision would ensure that aid does not get seized and sold by well-connected elites or diverted to feed North Korea's large military . In 2005, South Korea and China together provided almost 1 million tons of food aid, each contributing half. Humanitarian aid from North Korea's neighbors has been cut off at times in order to provoke North Korea into resuming boycotted talks. For example, South Korea decided to "postpone consideration" of 500,000 tons of rice for
8436-437: The North in 2006, but the idea of providing food as a clear incentive (as opposed to resuming "general humanitarian aid") has been avoided. There have also been aid disruptions due to widespread theft of railway cars used by mainland China to deliver food relief. North Korea has not yet resumed reliable self-sufficiency in food production and as a result, it periodically relies on external food aid from South Korea , China ,
8584-538: The Russian foreign ministry said this speculation was "completely fake". In September, the New York Times reported that Russia had purchased millions of shells and rockets from North Korea to support its invasion, citing U.S. intelligence officials, but Russia and North Korea both deny this. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said they were "working on political arrangements" to employ North Korean workers in Russia, possibly 20,000 to 50,000 to develop
8732-629: The United Nations Vitaly Churkin insisted that any sanctions should be lifted once North Korea cooperates. Also, On 30 March 2010, President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree implementing intensified United Nations Security Council sanctions against Pyongyang's nuclear programs. The presidential decree banned the purchase of weapons and relevant materials from the DPRK by government offices, enterprises , banks , organizations and individuals currently under Russia's jurisdiction. It also prohibited
8880-620: The United Nations, the floods of 1994 and 1995 destroyed around 1.5 million tons of grain reserves, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that 1.2 million tons (or 12%) of grain production was lost in the 1995 flood. There were further major floods in 1996 and a drought in 1997. North Korea lost an estimated 85% of its power generation capacity due to flood damage to infrastructure such as hydropower plants, coal mines, and supply and transport facilities. UN officials reported that
9028-578: The United States aimed towards ridding North Korea of nuclear weapons. Some United States officials noted that soon after rumours about Kim's health were publicized a month before, North Korea had taken a "tougher line in nuclear negotiations". In late August North Korea's official news agency reported the government would "consider soon a step to restore the nuclear facilities in Nyongbyon to their original state as strongly requested by its relevant institutions". Analysts said this meant "the military may have taken
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#17328555612549176-609: The Workers' Party of Korea on 8 October 1997. In 1998, he was re-elected as chairman of the National Defence Commission, and a constitutional amendment declared that post to be "the highest post of the state." Also in 1998, the Supreme People's Assembly wrote the president's post out of the constitution and designated Kim Il Sung as the country's " Eternal President " in order to honor his memory forever. Officially, Kim
9324-451: The analyst Andrei Lankov argued that previous predictions of a return to famine were unfounded, and that the days of starvation had long since passed. North Korea%E2%80%93Russia relations#1990s The Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR, the predecessor state to the modern Russian Federation ) was the first to recognize North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea, DPRK) on October 12, 1948, shortly after
9472-592: The attendees sometimes shouted, "Long live Kim Pyong Il!" Kim Jong Il reported this to his father, knowing that it could be portrayed as a threat to the personality cult surrounding him. Reportedly, Kim Il Sung was infuriated and Pyong Il thus fell out of favor, strengthening Kim Jong Il's position. In 1979, Kim Pyong Il began a series of diplomatic postings in Europe , arranged so as then he couldn't influence politics in North Korea. Kim Pyong Il only returned to North Korea in 2019. According to Kim Jong Il's official biography,
9620-668: The barometer for distinguishing whether a person can be deemed a member of North Korean society and hence entitled to rights 'lies not on the grounds of his social class but on the grounds of his ideology'. In an August 2008 issue of the Japanese newsweekly Shūkan Gendai , Waseda University professor Toshimitsu Shigemura, an authority on the Korean Peninsula , claimed that Kim died of diabetes in late 2003 and had been replaced in public appearances by one or more stand-ins previously employed to protect him from assassination attempts. In
9768-409: The car is formally owned by a legitimate enterprise or unit that also provides transportation permits. With the desperation derived from famine and informal trade and commercialization, North Koreans developed their black market, and moreover, they were surviving by adapting. Andrei Lankov has described the process as the "natural death of North Korean Stalinism". The average official salary in 2011
9916-473: The communist system. Food was distributed to people according to their political standing and their degree of loyalty to the state. The structure is as follows (the World Food Program considers 600 grams of cereal per day to be less than a "survival ration"): However, the extended period of food shortages put a strain on the system, and it spread the amount of available food allocations thinly across
10064-450: The country off from almost all external trade, even with its traditional partners, the Soviet Union and China. South Korea accused Kim of ordering the 1983 bombing in Rangoon , Burma which killed 17 visiting South Korean officials, including four cabinet members, and another in 1987 which killed all 115 onboard Korean Air Flight 858 . A North Korean agent, Kim Hyon Hui , confessed to planting
10212-516: The country to try to be. Due to North Korea's terrain, farming is mainly concentrated along the flatlands of the four western coastal provinces, where there is a longer growing season, level land, substantial rainfall, and well-irrigated soil conducive to the high cultivation of crops. Along with the western coastal provinces, fertile land also runs through the eastern seaboard provinces. However, interior provinces such as Chagang and Ryanggang are too mountainous, dry, and cold to support farming. In
10360-753: The country. As devastating floods ravaged the country in 1995, arable land , harvests , grain reserves, and social and economic infrastructure were destroyed. The United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs reported that "between 30 July and 18 August 1995, torrential rains caused devastating floods in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). In one area, in Pyongsan county in North Hwanghae province, 877 millimetres or 35 inches of rain were recorded to have fallen in just seven hours, an intensity of precipitation unheard of in this area... water flow in
10508-413: The course of general education between September 1950 and August 1960. He attended Primary School No. 4 and Middle School No. 1 ( Namsan Higher Middle School ) in Pyongyang. This is contested by foreign academics, who believe he is more likely to have received his early education in the People's Republic of China as a precaution to ensure his safety during the Korean War . Throughout his schooling, Kim
10656-460: The crisis, regardless of gender, affiliation or social class. Child malnutrition, indicated as being severely underweight, was found at 3% in 1987, 14% in 1997 and 7% in 2002. Songun is North Korea 's "Military First" policy, which prioritizes the Korean People's Army in affairs of state and allocates national resources to the "army first". Even though the armed forces were given priority for
10804-403: The death toll vary widely. Out of a total population of approximately 22 million , somewhere between 240,000 and 3,500,000 North Koreans died from starvation or hunger-related illnesses, with the deaths peaking in 1997. A 2011 U.S. Census Bureau report estimated the number of excess deaths from 1993 to 2000 to be between 500,000 and 600,000. The term "Arduous March" or "March of Suffering" became
10952-480: The development and production of ballistic missiles. In addition, North Korean naval vessels to call at Russian ports would be required to undergo inspection. Also, the authorities ordered to be vigilant when dealing with North Korean diplomats. In June 2014 Russia and North Korea have agreed to settlements in rubles in all trade between the two countries. The first transactions in rubles between Russia and North Korea were carried out in October 2014. In March 2015,
11100-453: The distribution of food, this did not mean that they all received generous rations. The army was supposed to find ways to grow food to feed itself and to develop industries that would permit it to purchase food and supplies from abroad. The rations received by military personnel were very basic, and "ordinary soldiers of the million-strong army often remained hungry, as did their families, who did not receive preferential treatment simply because
11248-435: The economic collapse. Most North Koreans had experienced nutritional deprivation long before the mid-1990s. The country had reached the limits of its productive capacity, and could not respond effectively to exogenous shocks . North Korea's state trading companies emerged as an alternative means of conducting foreign economic relations. From the mid-1980s, these state trading companies became important conduits of funding for
11396-529: The effect that at last Russia had a leader "with whom to do business." However, intensive diplomatic work had to precede a historical breakthrough in Russia–DPRK relations. These efforts began to bear fruit in late 1998, and by March 1999, it became possible to agree completely on the text and the initial Treaty on Friendship, Good-Neighborly Relations and Cooperation. It was signed in February 2000, after Yeltsin left
11544-456: The engorged Amnok River , which runs along the Korea/China border, was estimated at 4.8 billion tons over a 72 hour period. Flooding of this magnitude had not been recorded in at least 70 years". The major issues created by the floods were not only the destruction of crop lands and harvests, but also the loss of emergency grain reserves, because many of them were stored underground. According to
11692-414: The famine and the poverty of the period. The World Health Organization reported death rates for children at 93 out of every 1000, while those of infants were cited at 23 out of every 1000. Undernourished mothers found it difficult to breast-feed. No suitable alternative to the practice was available. Infant formula was not produced locally, and only a small amount of it was imported. The famine resulted in
11840-494: The famine, but it seems that the famine also led to widespread government corruption, which nearly resulted in the collapse of old government controls and regulations. When fuel became scarce while demand for logistics rose, so-called servi-cha ( Korean : 써비차 ; MR : ssŏbich'a , "service cars") operations formed, wherein an entrepreneur provides transportation to businesses, institutions and individuals without access to other means of transportation, while
11988-452: The famine. As a result, he was publicly executed by firing squad by the North Korean government. The economic decline and failed policies provided the context for the famine, but the floods of the mid-1990s were the immediate cause. The floods in July and August 1995 were described as being "of biblical proportions" by independent observers. They were estimated to affect as much as 30 percent of
12136-511: The financing of trade between the two countries. In 2013, Russia supported both resolutions of the UN Security Council against North Korea for its missile and nuclear tests. In February 2014, during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi , Krasnodar Krai , a delegation headed by Kim Yong-nam travelled to represent North Korea, even though the latter did not participate in these Olympics. Kim had
12284-1003: The first time since 2000, arriving in Pyongyang in a Ilyushin Il-96 and meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Putin expressed appreciation for North Korea's support of Russia's military actions in Ukraine and emphasized their mutual opposition to Western ambitions, "to hinder the establishment of a multipolar world order based on justice, mutual respect for sovereignty, considering each other’s interests." North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed "full support" for Russia's war in Ukraine and pledged stronger strategic ties with Moscow. The visit raised concerns about potential arms deals where North Korea could supply munitions to Russia in exchange for economic aid and technology to enhance its nuclear weapons program . Putin also discussed developing trade and payment systems independent of Western control and expanding cooperation in tourism, culture, and education. The visit included several top Russian officials, and
12432-412: The following year. However, when Kim Il Sung began to contemplate the succession question in the early 1970s, it was not certain that Kim Jong Il would be his successor. There was Kim's uncle, Kim Yong-ju , who was once believed to be Kim Il Sung's eventual successor but who had made several mistakes in the struggle for power, had serious flaws, and was becoming increasingly marginalized. Then there
12580-501: The following year. Kim Jong Suk died in 1949 from an ectopic pregnancy. In 1945, Kim was four years old when World War II ended and Korea regained independence from Japan . His father returned to Pyongyang that September, and in late November Kim returned to Korea via a Soviet ship, landing at Sonbong . The family moved into a former Japanese officer's mansion in Pyongyang, with a garden and pool. Kim's brother drowned there in 1948. According to his official biography, Kim completed
12728-563: The government and the country. Although not required to stand for popular election to his key offices, he was unanimously elected to the Supreme People's Assembly every five years, representing a military constituency, due to his concurrent capacities as supreme commander of the KPA and chairman of the NDC. Kim had a "reputation for being almost comically incompetent in matters of economic management". The economy of North Korea struggled throughout
12876-437: The government began building a personality cult around him patterned after that of his father, the "Great Leader". Kim was regularly hailed by the media as the "fearless leader" and "the great successor to the revolutionary cause". He emerged as the most powerful figure behind his father in North Korea. By the 1980s, North Korea began to experience severe economic stagnation. Kim Il Sung's policy of Juche (self-reliance) cut
13024-419: The government proved to be too inflexible to respond. Energy imports fell by 75%. The economy went into a downward spiral, with imports and exports falling in tandem. Flooded coal mines required electricity to operate pumps, and the shortage of coal worsened the shortage of electricity. Agriculture reliant on electrically powered irrigation systems, artificial fertilizers and pesticides was hit particularly hard by
13172-618: The great famine the Arduous March ( Korean : 고난의 행군 , romanized : ko'nan-ŭi haenggun ). It was one of the most important events in the history of North Korea , because it forced the regime and its people to change their lives in fundamental and unanticipated ways. Only about 20% of North Korea's mountainous terrain is arable land. Much of the land is only frost-free for six months, and only one crop can be grown on it per year. The country has never been self-sufficient in food production, and many experts considered it unrealistic for
13320-437: The groups, affecting 62% of the population who were entirely reliant on public distribution. The system was feeding only 6% of the population by 1997. A 2008 study, however, found no variation in children's nutrition between counties that had experienced flooding and those that had not. The famine was also a result of the culmination of a long series of government decisions that accrued slowly over decades. The attempt to follow
13468-419: The health of the ailing leader. By 29 October 2008, reports stated Kim suffered a serious setback and had been taken back to the hospital. The New York Times reported that Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso , on 28 October 2008, stated in a parliamentary session that Kim had been hospitalized: "His condition is not so good. However, I don't think he is totally incapable of making decisions". Aso further said
13616-601: The infrastructure in the Russian Far East. In September 2023, Kim Jong Un visited Russia in his first foreign trip since 2019 (also to Russia). The meeting lasted over four hours at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur Oblast , and was described as underpinning how the two countries' interests are aligning. Putin is widely suspected to be seeking North Korea's large stockpiles of aging ammunition and rockets from
13764-601: The international community responded accordingly: Beginning in 1996, the U.S. also started shipping food aid to North Korea through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to combat the famine. Shipments peaked in 1999 at nearly 600,000 tons making the U.S. the largest foreign aid donor to the country at the time. Under the Bush administration , aid was drastically reduced year after year from 320,000 tons in 2001 to 28,000 tons in 2005. The Bush administration
13912-458: The lower Tumen River , which is 17 kilometers (11 mi) long and was formed in 1860 when Tsar Alexander II acquired Ussuriland from Qing dynasty China in the Convention of Peking . In 2022, North Korea became the third country (the second being Syria ) to recognise the independence of the breakaway states of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics in eastern Ukraine . In response to
14060-772: The message, Yeltsin expressed his hopes for tension reduction on the Korean peninsula and North Korea's continuing observance of the Armistice Agreement. Kim Jong Il, expecting that Gennady Zyuganov , the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation , would win the coming presidential election in June–July 1996 , did not even send a letter of reply, nor did he meet with the Russian delegation. Since
14208-543: The methods of the past that had produced short-to medium-term gains might have continued producing further small economic benefits if the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc had remained and continued to supply oil, technology, and expertise. Without help from these countries, North Korea was unable to respond adequately to the coming famine. For a time, China filled the gap left by the Soviet Union's collapse and propped up North Korea's food supply with significant aid. By 1993, China
14356-584: The mid-1990s, when it became apparent that South Korea would not become an important economic partner and that the DPRK was not collapsing, Russia generally followed a strategy of diplomatic 'equidistance' between North and South Korea. Vladimir Putin 's elevation to prime minister in August 1999 and then president in March had critical significance for Pyongyang , which attributed its previous grievances to Yeltsin's government. Kim Jong Il 's references to Putin were to
14504-536: The nation. North Korean pre-school children are reported to be an average of three to four centimetres ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 – 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) shorter than South Koreans, which some researchers believe can only be explained by conditions of famine and malnutrition. Most people only eat meat on public holidays, namely Kim Jong Il 's birthday, the Day of the Shining Star on February 16 and Kim Il Sung 's birthday,
14652-473: The official metaphor for the famine following a state propaganda campaign in 1993. The Rodong Sinmun urged the North Korean citizenry to invoke the memory of a propaganda fable from Kim Il Sung 's time as a commander of a small group of anti-Japanese guerrilla fighters. The story, referred to as the Arduous March , is described as "fighting against thousands of enemies in 20 degrees below zero, braving
14800-475: The opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics on the day it took place, the 8th, focusing on the presence of Kim Yong-nam. In April 2014, Russia wrote off 90% of North Korea's $ 11 billion of Soviet-era debt. In October 2014, the new North Korean Foreign Minister, Ri Su-yong , made a ten-day visit to Russia. In November 2014 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's special envoy, Choe Ryong-hae , made
14948-499: The other hand, the WFP has reported malnutrition and food shortages, but not famine. In 2016, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reported a steady decline in the infant mortality rate since 2008. An academic analysis in 2016 found that the situation had greatly improved since the 1990s and that North Korea's levels of health and nutrition were on par with other developing countries. In 2017,
15096-678: The overall bilateral economic trade between Russia and North Korea, 80% consists of cooperation and investment between North Korean and Russian regional areas. The most active regions are Siberia and the Far East, mainly the Kemerovo , Magadan and Primorski regions. In December 2013 Russia joined the sanctions against North Korea , introduced in March by the UN Security Council ( Resolution 2087 ). The corresponding decree signed by President Putin specified that Russian companies were prohibited to provide North Korea any technical assistance and advice in
15244-468: The party Secretariat . When he was made a member of the Seventh Supreme People's Assembly in February 1982, international observers deemed him the heir apparent of North Korea. Prior to 1980, he had no public profile and was referred to only as the "Party Centre". At this time Kim assumed the title "Dear Leader" ( Korean : 친애하는 지도자 ; MR : ch'inaehanŭn jidoja ), and
15392-507: The party, Kim Il Sung called for loyalty in the film industry that had betrayed him with An Act of Sincerity . Kim Jong Il himself announced that he was up to the task and thus begun his influential career in North Korean film-making, during which he made significant efforts to further intensify the personality cult of his father and attach himself to it. Kim Jong Il was elected to the Central Committee in 1972 and became its secretary
15540-602: The peak of the bilateral relationship, about 60% of North Korea's trade was with the Soviet Union. Much of the trade was in raw materials and petroleum that Moscow provided to Pyongyang at concessional prices. In response to the famine-stricken North Korea in the mid-1990s, Russia delivered humanitarian aid to North Korea twice in 1997: food and medicine worth 4.5 billion "old" rubles in the fall, and 370 tonnes of sugar, canned meat, fish and milk worth 3.5 billion rubles, in December. In 2008, Russia delivered oil and food to North Korea in accordance with its obligations outlined at
15688-452: The political arena. Starting in April 2000, covert preparations for a visit by President Putin to Pyongyang began. The first summit meeting in the history of Russian-Korean relations took place in July 2000 when a Joint Declaration was signed, the first international document signed by Kim Jong Il as General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea . In July 2006 Russia supported United Nations Security Council Resolution 1695 , condemning
15836-445: The possibility of sending more humanitarian aid to North Korea, "depending on the situation there and taking into account our capabilities". Sukhinin went on to say that in 2011 Russia had provided North Korea with 50,000 tonnes of grain on a bilateral basis, as well as with $ 5 million worth of flour as part of the World Food Programme . In addition, 10,000 tonnes of grain were dispatched to North Korea by Gazprom . However, of
15984-497: The power shortage from 1995 to 1997 was not due to a shortage of oil, because only two out of a total of two dozen power stations were dependent on heavy fuel oil for power generation, and these were supplied by KEDO (the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization ). About 70% of power generated in the DPRK came from hydropower sources, and the serious winter-spring droughts of 1996 and 1997 (and
16132-480: The pre-crisis population, died due to starvation and hunger-related illness. In 1998, US Congressional staffers who visited the country reported that: "Therefore, we gave a range of estimates, from 300,000 to 800,000 dying per year, peaking in 1997. That would put the total number of deaths from the North Korean food shortage at between 900,000 and 2.4 million between 1995 and 1998". W. Courtland Robinson's team found 245,000 "excess" deaths (an elevated mortality rate as
16280-487: The proclamation, as the sole legitimate authority in all of Korea . The Soviet Union supported North Korea during the Korean War . North Korea was founded as part of the Communist bloc , and received major Soviet military and political support. The comprehensive personality cult around North Korea's ruling family was heavily influenced by Stalinism . China and the Soviet Union competed for influence in North Korea during
16428-475: The recognition and support of Russia, Ukraine terminated diplomatic ties with North Korea. In September 2022, Russia reportedly purchased millions of shells and rockets from North Korea to aid in its invasion of Ukraine. In 2024, North Korea also sent workers to Russia which lacks workforce due to the war. The Soviet Union had provided much support to North Korea during the Cold War . Soviet troops invaded
16576-407: The regime, with a percentage of all revenues going "directly into Kim Jong Il 's personal accounts... [which have been] used to secure and maintain the loyalty of the senior leadership". The country soon imposed austerity measures, dubbed the "eat two meals a day" campaign. These measures proved inadequate in stemming the economic decline. According to Professor Hazel Smith of Cranfield University :
16724-439: The role of the military by his Songun ("military-first") policies, making the army the central organizer of civil society. Kim's rule also saw tentative economic reforms, including the opening of the Kaesong Industrial Park in 2003. In April 2009, North Korea's constitution was amended to refer to him and his successors as the "supreme leader of the DPRK". The most common colloquial title given to Kim during his lifetime
16872-543: The ruling WPK and succeeded him. After his death, alongside "Eternal General Secretary" of the WPK, Kim Jong Il was declared "Eternal Chairman" of the now defunct National Defence Commission , in keeping with the tradition of establishing eternal posts for the dead members of the Kim dynasty . North Korean media also began referring to Kim as "the General" ( Changun ), similar to his father's posthumous designation as "the [eternal] President". Soviet records show that Kim Jong Il
17020-509: The semblance of a free market system". In 2002, Kim declared that "money should be capable of measuring the worth of all commodities." These gestures toward economic reform mirror similar actions taken by China's Deng Xiaoping in the late 1980s and early 90s. During a rare visit in 2006, Kim expressed admiration for China's rapid economic progress. An unsuccessful devaluation of the North Korean won in 2009, initiated or approved by Kim personally, caused brief economic chaos and uncovered
17168-559: The transit of weapons and relevant materials via Russian territory or their export to the DPRK. Any financial aid and educational training that might facilitate North Korea's nuclear program and proliferation activities were also forbidden. In December 2010 the North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart, Lavrov, in what was seen as North Korea trying to control criticism about its attack on South Korea's Yeonpyeong island . Lavrov told
17316-418: The upper hand and that Kim might no longer be wielding absolute authority". By 10 September, there were conflicting reports. Unidentified South Korean government officials said Kim had undergone surgery after suffering a minor stroke and had apparently "intended to attend 9 September event in the afternoon but decided not to because of the aftermath of the surgery". Kim Yong Nam said, "While we wanted to celebrate
17464-738: The visit of the Deputy Foreign Minister of the DPRK Kung Seok-ung to Moscow, Foreign Ministries of both countries have signed an inter-ministerial plan of exchanges on 2013–2014. On June 5, 2012, the two sides concluded a Boundary Treaty between the two states. In September 2012 Russia agreed to write off 90% of North Korea's $ 11 billion historic debt to Russia as a sign of closer engagement with North Korea's new leader. The $ 1 billion North Korea has to repay will be used to finance Russian investment in humanitarian and energy projects in North Korea. This agreement removed legal blocks hindering
17612-431: The vulnerability of the country's societal fabric in the face of crisis. Kim was known as a skilled and manipulative diplomat. In 1998, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung implemented the " Sunshine Policy " to improve North-South relations and to allow South Korean companies to start projects in the North. Kim announced plans to import and develop new technologies to develop North Korea's fledgling software industry. As
17760-512: The wake of the devastation of the 1990s, the government began formally approving some activity of small-scale bartering and trade. As observed by Daniel Sneider, associate director for research at the Stanford University Asia–Pacific Research Center , this flirtation with capitalism was "fairly limited, but – especially compared to the past – there are now remarkable markets that create
17908-448: The widespread destruction of harvests and food reserves, the majority of the population became desperate for food, including areas well established in food production. In 1996, it was reported that people in "the so-called better-off parts of the country, were so hungry that they ate the maize cobs before the crop was fully developed". This reduced expected production of an already ravaged harvest by 50%. People everywhere were affected by
18056-497: The workforce and obtain supplies for their families. Pregnant and nursing women faced severe difficulties in staying healthy; maternal mortality rates increased to approximately 41 per 1000, while simple complications such as anemia , hemorrhage and premature birth became common due to vitamin deficiency . It was estimated that the number of births declined by about 0.3 children per woman during that period. Children, especially those under two years old, were most affected by both
18204-427: The world. Kim ruled North Korea as a repressive and totalitarian dictatorship. Kim assumed leadership during a period of catastrophic economic crisis amidst the dissolution of the Soviet Union , on which it was heavily dependent for trade in food and other supplies, which brought a famine . While the famine had ended by the late 1990s, food scarcity continued to be a problem throughout his tenure. Kim strengthened
18352-422: The younger Kim took part in the investigation and purges that followed the incident. In addition, Kim Jong Il gave a speech at the plenum; it was his first as a figure of authority. Kim Jong Il's name was also mentioned in public documents, possibly for the first time, indicating that Kim Il Sung might have already planned for Jong Il to succeed him as leader. Only six months after, in an unscheduled meeting of
18500-400: Was "Dear Leader" to distinguish him from his father Kim Il Sung, the "Great Leader". Following Kim's failure to appear at important public events in 2008, foreign observers assumed that Kim had either fallen seriously ill or died. On 19 December 2011, the North Korean government announced that he had died two days earlier, whereupon his third son, Kim Jong Un, was promoted to a senior position in
18648-478: Was "very ill and most likely suffered a stroke a few weeks ago, but United States intelligence authorities do not think his death is imminent". The BBC noted that the North Korean government denied these reports, stating that Kim's health problems were "not serious enough to threaten his life", although they did confirm that he had suffered a stroke on 15 August. Japan's Kyodo News agency reported on 14 September, that "Kim collapsed on 14 August due to stroke or
18796-650: Was Kim Il Sung's first wife. Inside his family, he was nicknamed "Yura", while his younger brother Kim Man Il (born Aleksandr Kim) was nicknamed "Shura". Kim's official biography states he was born in a secret military camp on Paektu Mountain ( Korean : 백두산밀영고향집 ; Baekdusan Miryeong Gohyang jip ) in Korea, Empire of Japan on 16 February 1942. According to one comrade of Kim's mother, Lee Min, word of Kim's birth first reached an army camp in Vyatskoye via radio and that both Kim and his mother did not return there until
18944-498: Was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea . He led North Korea from the death of his father Kim Il Sung in 1994 until his death in 2011, when he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Un . Afterwards, Kim Jong Il was declared Eternal General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). In the early 1980s, Kim had become the heir apparent for the leadership of North Korea, thus being established
19092-438: Was between 500,000 and 600,000, and a total of 600,000 to 1,000,000 excess deaths from the year 1993 to the year 2008. At the same time, the years of famine were also marked by a dramatic revival of illegal, private market activities . Smuggling across the border boomed, and up to 250,000 North Koreans moved to China . Amartya Sen had mentioned bad governance as one of the structural and economic problems which contributed to
19240-511: Was born Yuri Kim. In literature, it is assumed that he was born in 1941 in either the camp of Vyatskoye , near Khabarovsk , or camp Voroshilov near Nikolsk . According to Lim Jae Cheon, Kim cannot have been born in Vyatskoye as Kim Il Sung's war records show that he arrived at Vyatskoye only in July 1942 and had been living in Voroshilov before, thus Kim Jong Il is generally agreed to have been born in Voroshilov. Kim's mother, Kim Jong-suk ,
19388-507: Was created especially for Kim in 1992 and is frequently broadcast on the radio and from loudspeakers on the streets of Pyongyang. According to a 2004 Human Rights Watch report, the North Korean government under Kim was "among the world's most repressive governments", having up to 200,000 political prisoners according to U.S. and South Korean officials, with no freedom of the press or religion, political opposition or equal education: "Virtually every aspect of political, social, and economic life
19536-538: Was criticized for "using food as a weapon" during talks over the North's nuclear weapons program, but insisted the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) criteria were the same for all countries and the situation in North Korea had "improved significantly since its collapse in the mid-1990s". South Korea (before the Lee Myung-bak government ) and China remained the largest donors of food aid to North Korea. The U.S. objects to this manner of donating food due to
19684-631: Was equivalent to US$ 2 per month. However, the actual monthly income could be estimated to be around US$ 15 as most North Koreans were earning money from illegal small businesses; trade, subsistence farming, and handicrafts. The illegal economy is largely dominated by women. This is because men are expected to attend their places of official work despite most of the factories being non-functional. Initial assistance to North Korea started as early as 1990, with small-scale support from religious groups in South Korea and assistance from UNICEF . In August 1995, North Korea made an official request for humanitarian aid and
19832-419: Was exacerbated by the failure of the public distribution system. The regime refused to pursue policies that would have allowed food imports and distribution without discrimination to all regions of the country. During the famine, the urban working class of the cities and towns of the eastern provinces of the country was hit particularly hard. The distribution of food reflected basic principles of stratification of
19980-461: Was followed by a visit by Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov to Pyongyang in October, where he met with Kim. In March 2024, Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that otherwise received 13 supports and 1 abstention that would have renewed the mandate of the Panel of Experts that monitor sanctions compliance. In June 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea for
20128-718: Was in North Korea to sign "a protocol of the 5th Meeting of the North Korea-Russia Intergovernmental Committee for Cooperation in Trade, Economy, Science and Technology". Also on same day, the North Korean premier , Choe Yong-rim , met with the Russian economic delegation at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang . On 2 February 2012, the Interfax report further quoted the Russian ambassador to North Korea, Valery Sukhinin, as saying that Russia "did not rule out"
20276-425: Was in charge of all internal affairs in the Democratic People's Republic. In 1992, radio broadcasts started referring to him as the "Dear Father", instead of the "Dear Leader", suggesting a promotion. His 50th birthday in February was the occasion for massive celebrations, exceeded only by those for the 80th birthday of Kim Il Sung himself on 15 April that same year. In 1992, Kim made his first public speech during
20424-549: Was in line with the United Nations Security Council resolution adopted in early March to penalize North Korea for its fourth nuclear test and long-range missile launch and curb its weapons of mass destruction program . Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il ( / ˌ k ɪ m dʒ ɒ ŋ ˈ ɪ l / ; Korean : 김정일 ; Korean pronunciation: [kim.dzɔŋ.il] ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim ; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011)
20572-569: Was involved in politics. He was active in the Korean Children's Union and the Democratic Youth League of North Korea (DYL), taking part in study groups of Marxist political theory and other literature. In September 1957, he became vice-chairman of his middle school's DYL branch (the chairman had to be a teacher). He pursued a programme of anti-factionalism and attempted to encourage greater ideological education among his classmates. Kim
20720-404: Was part of a triumvirate heading the executive branch of the North Korean government along with Premier Choe Yong Rim and parliament chairman Kim Yong Nam (no relation). Kim commanded the armed forces, Choe Yong Rim headed the government and handled domestic affairs and Kim Yong Nam handled foreign relations. However, in practice, Kim, like his father before him, exercised absolute control over
20868-515: Was seen to have occurred in July 2024. After the Korean War , the Soviet Union emerged as the main trading partner and sponsor of North Korea. Ninety-three North Korean factories were built with Russian technical assistance, forging the country's heavy-industrial backbone. Soviet aid to the DPRK indeed expanded from 1965 to 1968, especially after Sino-North Korean relations soured during the Chinese Cultural Revolution . In 1988, at
21016-506: Was sent to these distant posts by his father in order to avoid a power struggle between his two sons. Kim Jong Il officially joined the Workers' Party of Korea in July 1961. He rose up the ranks during the 1960s, and benefited greatly from the Kapsan faction incident around 1967, which was the last credible challenge to Kim Il Sung's rule. This incident marked the first time Kim Jong Il was – at age 26 – given official duties by his father, when
21164-659: Was staying at the Bongwha State Guest House. He was apparently conscious "but he needs some time to recuperate from the recent stroke, with some parts of his hands and feet paralyzed". It cited Chinese sources which claimed that one cause for the stroke could have been stress brought about by the United States delay to remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. On 19 October, North Korea reportedly ordered its diplomats to stay near their embassies to await "an important message", according to Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun , setting off renewed speculation about
21312-490: Was supplying North Korea with 77 percent of its fuel imports and 68 percent of its food imports. Thus, North Korea replaced its dependence on the Soviet Union with dependence on China. In 1993, China faced its own grain shortfalls and need for hard currency, and it sharply cut aid to North Korea. In 1997, So Kwan-hui , the North Korean minister for agriculture, was accused of spying for the United States government and sabotaging North Korean agriculture on purpose, thus leading to
21460-480: Was the focus of an elaborate personality cult inherited from his father and founder of the DPRK, Kim Il Sung. Kim Jong Il was often the centre of attention throughout ordinary life in the DPRK. On his 60th birthday (based on his official date of birth), mass celebrations occurred throughout the country on the occasion of his Hwangap . In 2010, the North Korean media reported that Kim's distinctive clothing had set worldwide fashion trends. The prevailing point of view
21608-641: Was the highest-level meeting (at the deputy prime ministerial level) between Moscow and Pyongyang since the collapse of the Soviet Union. During the visit, the two countries agreed to restore bilateral trade and economic cooperation to its 1991 level. The two sides also agreed to restore bilateral inter-governmental commissions and to establish working-level bodies between North Korea and the Russian Far Eastern province for bilateral cooperation in science-technology, forestry, light industry, and transport. Ignatenko carried Yeltsin's personal message to Kim Jong Il. In
21756-488: Was the more serious threat posed by his stepmother's, Kim Song-ae 's, children, especially by the eldest, Kim Pyong Il . In the end, Kim Jong Il won out: Kim Yong-ju was removed from his top posts and demoted to vice-premier. Then Kim Song-ae lost her position as chair of the KDWL , which was her vital power base. Kim Pyong Il had many positive characteristics but he was also known as a womanizer who threw raucous parties where
21904-415: Was treated by himself and other French doctors at Pyongyang's Red Cross Hospital. Roux said Kim suffered few lasting effects. On 5 November 2008, the North's Korean Central News Agency published 2 photos showing Kim posing with dozens of Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers on a visit to military Unit 2200 and sub-unit of Unit 534. Shown with his usual bouffant hairstyle, with his trademark sunglasses and
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