SHORT BIOGRAPHY AND MATERIALS ABOUT THE LIFE OF THE GREAT LEADER COMRADE KIM JONG IL
Short Biography of Kim Jong Il
Kim Jong Il, the great leader of the Korean people was born as the son of President Kim Il Sung and the anti-Japanese heroine Kim Jong Suk at the Mt. Paektu secret camp on 16 February 1942.
Finished general education from September 1950 to July 15 1960.
Completed higher education at Kim Il Sung University from September 1960 to March 1964.
Admitted to the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) on July 22 1961.
Appointed an official of the WPK Central Committee in June 1964 and successively held the posts of section chief, deputy department director and department director of the Central Committee until September 1973.
Elected member of the Party Central Committee at the Fifth Plenum of the Fifth Party Central Committee in October 1972, and Secretary of the Central Committee at the Seventh Plenum of the Fifth Party Central Committee in September 1973.
Elected to the Political Committee of the Party Central Committee and acclaimed heir to President Kim Il Sung at the Eighth Plenum of the Fifth Party Central Committee in February 1974.
Elected member of the Presidium of the Political Committee of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and member of the Party Central Military Commission at the Sixth Party Congress in October 1980.
Elected to a deputy from 7th to 12th Supreme People's Assemblies (SPA) of the DPRK.
Elected First Vice-Chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK at the first session of the 9th SPA in May 1990.
Appointed Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army in December 1991.
Awarded the title of DPRK Marshal in April 1992.
Elected Chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK at the fifth session of the 9th SPA in April 1993.
Elected General Secretary of the WPK in October 1997.
Re-elected Chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK at the first session of the 10th SPA in September 1998, at the first session of the 11th SPA in September 2003 and at the first session of the12th SPA in 2007.
Re-elected General Secretary of the Conference of the WPK in September 2010.
Leader Kim Jong Il, General Secretary of the WPK, Chairman of the the National Defence Commission of the DPRK and Supreme Commander of the KPA passed away of sudden illness on the way to field guidance on 17 December 2011, while energetically working for the prosperity of the socialist Korea, the happiness of the people and the national reunification.
Published a great number of works, including those compiled in “Kim Jong Il’s Selected Works”, through his energetic and brilliant ideological and theoretical activities.
Awarded the title of DPRK Hero four times in 1975, 1982, 1992 and 2011, the Kim Il Sung Order three times in 1978, 1982 and 1992, the Kim Il Sung Prize in February 1973, and many other decorations and medals.
Received a large number of decorations and medals, honourary titles, titles of honourary professor and doctor from many countries.
The Train That Ran to the People Through Bitter Cold
Leader Kim Jong Il, Chairman of the National Defence Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, always found himself on the train and spent his lifetime in field guidance for the sake of the fatherland and people.
The data show that there have been 1 700 media reports on leader Kim Jong Il’s revolutionary activities since the demise of President Kim Il Sung, of which 160 are for the year of 2011 alone.
Thus leader Kim Jong Il worked so energetically all the year round until the last moment of his life despite of the sultry and cold weathers, that he could not recover from the fatigue and passed away to the deepest regret of the people.
From the first day this year he refused to rest and gave spot guidance to different fields of national economy regardless of his birthday and national holidays, thus leading the struggle to build a thriving socialist nation.
His last trip was also made to an establishment that would make contribution to the people’s life. He died of sudden heart attack on his way to another place for field guidance.
The Korean people grieved at the news of his death were even more anguished by the weather records of December 16 and 17 from the weather station, which said:
“The highest daytime temperature on December 16 and the lowest morning temperature on December 17 were the lowest ever recorded up to December 21, this year. The day’s temperature was the lowest in the past 26 years since 1985 ever recorded as the highest daytime temperature.”
His days of successive field guidance for the people were spent more in nasty days than in fair days
Wishing leader Kim Jong Il good health the Korean people would sing a song:
Snows and rains falling on this land
We are ready to go through
Lest you walk sloppy roads
But the last train he was on had to run in the coldest day of this year
Eternal Image
On December 17, 2011 leader Kim Jong Il, Chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK passed away too early of a sudden illness on a train on his way to field guidance for the people.
At the sad news of his death on December 19, the Korean people, who wanted to see him, were at a loss.
It was because there was no statue for them to cry their heart out looking up to.
In his lifetime leader Kim Jong Il saw to it that the President Kim Il Sung’s statues were erected everywhere in Korea thinking of the President only. But he refused erecting his own statue. He also denied the production of any feature film depicting him.
However earnestly the Korean people wanted, he did not walk onto the public forum in marshal’s uniform to deliver a speech receiving congratulations from the people.
Leader Kim Jong Un suggested making a celebrated picture of leader Kim Jong Il with broad warm smile wearing the field clothes he used to put on in his endless field guidance tour.
Artists are said to have completed his portrait, missing leader Kim Jong Il who was smiling broadly on blizzardy Mt. Paektu.
The portrait of leader Kim Jong Il was thus produced representing the burning desire of the KPA servicemen who would march proudly across the grand festival square upholding it together with that of President Kim Il Sung marking the 100th birthday of the President on April, 2012.
Nobody then expected it would be hung in a few days over the sea of tears of national mourning.
On Dec. 20 the portrait was to be found at many places in Pyongyang.
Those places were all of a sudden crowded with endless streams of people, roads and residential districts around them turning into the waves of people.
The smiling President Kim Il Sung’s picture, which was perfected under the direct guidance of leader Kim Jong Il and presented to the Korean people grieving at the death of the President Kim Il Sung 17 years ago, made all the people shed tears. His smile is still vivid in the hearts of the mankind.
Now the great leader Kim Jong Un prepared the picture of smiling leader Kim Jong Il for his people.
It was leader Kim Jong Un’s announcement that Kim Jong Il will always be with the people and his lifetime aspiration for building a thriving socialist state for the people will be realized at any cost.
Leader Kim Jong Il who devoted his all for the fatherland and people will live forever as the sun in the hearts of the mankind with his bright smile.
Why Is there No Statue of Leader Kim Jong Il?
Leader Kim Jong Il, Chairman of the National Defence Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army, passed away on December 17, 2011 of acute disease on the way to field guidance.
Sites for mourning ceremony were established across the country. Lamenting bitterly over the sudden death of leader Kim Jong Il the Korean people felt all the more painful and unfilial, for they had not erected any statue of leader Kim Jong Il.
Here is a story how they could not set up his statue.
The Korean people, with deep respect and admiration for leader Kim Jong Il who achieved great exploits for the country and the people, had long since planned to erect his statue.
The issue became a matter of an utmost urgency entering 1999.
Letters from the servicemen of the Korean Peoples Army and the people, sent to the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea on the occasion of the 60th birthday of leader Kim Jong Il, unanimously called for the erecting of his statue. The Korean revolutionary veterans actively joined them, too.
The followers of the Juche idea and Songun idea as well as the progressive people fighting for socialism across the world also sent letters to leader Kim Jong Il suggesting it.
The Mansudae Art Studio, the top dignified fine art producer in Korea, made drafts for the statue and submitted them to the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.
Leader Kim Jong Il, nonetheless, was opposed to any of them: he would never tolerate their suggestions.
Sharply criticizing those who were busy with setting up the statue, Kim Jong Il said: Now I think of nothing but how to reunify the country and build a thriving nation on this land carrying forward the revolutionary cause of the President. I wonder why you are so lost in the statue issue, which I myself don’t want.
Leader Kim Jong Il honored those who made contributions to the cause of country’s liberation, socialism and the building of a thriving nation as patriots and heroes and had their statues erected. He, however, never allowed anything for himself.
Leader Kim Jong Il was so humble a man that he dedicated his all for the people but wanted no honour nor fame.
Therefore the Korean people established the mourning sites with the portrait of leader Kim Jong Il hung at the places frequented by the masses.
Looking up to the portrait of leader Kim Jong Il smiling brightly like the sun, people cried and cried regretting their mistakes that they, taken up in happiness thanks to his warm care and solicitude, had not erected any statue of their leader.
But their tears were not the simple tears of lamentation and sorrow. They were the tears of firm determination to courageously overcome the grief to build at any cost a thriving nation, leader Kim Jong Il’s life-long aspiration, following respected leader Kim Jong Un.
Led by respected leader Kim Jong Un the Korean people will with credit carry on the Korean revolution to the end, the cause which had advanced victoriously under the leadership of leader Kim Jong Il.