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Kim Jong-il (born Yuri Irsenovich Kim, February 16, 1941; official biography claims 1942 – December 17, 2011), also romanised as Kim Jong-Il, Kim Jong Il, or Kim Jung-il, was the supreme leader of North Korea (DPRK) from 1994 to 2011. He succeeded his father and founder of the DPRK Kim Il-sung, following his death in 1994. Jong-il was the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea, and the supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, the 4th-largest standing army in the world. He continued his father's rabid hold on the nation of North Korea, where the citizens have virtually no rights whatsoever. He, however, also held the strongest of all militaries and was still generally less brutal than his father was.
In December 2011, Jong-il died of a stroke and was soon succeeded by his son Kim Jong-un.
Death
It was reported that Jong-il had died of a suspected heart attack on December 17, 2011 at 8:30 while traveling by train to an area outside Pyongyang. However, it was reported in December 2012 that he had died "in a fit of rage" over construction faults at a crucial power plant project at Huichon in Jagang Province. Jong-il was succeeded by his youngest son Kim Jong-un, who was hailed by the Korean Central News Agency as the "Great Successor". The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report that during his death, a fierce snowstorm paused and the sky glowed red above the sacred Mount Paektu. The ice on a famous lake also cracked so loud, it seemed to shake the Heavens and the Earth.
Jong-il's funeral took place on December 28 in Pyongyang, with a mourning period lasting until the following day. South Korea's military was immediately put on alert after the announcement and its National Security Council convened for an emergency meeting, out of concern that political jockeying in North Korea could destabilise the region. Asian stock markets fell soon after the announcement because of similar concerns.
On January 12, 2012, North Korea called Jong-il the "Eternal Leader" and announced that his body will be preserved and displayed at Pyongyang's Kumsusan Memorial Palace. Officials will also install statues, portraits, and "towers to his immortality" across the country. His birthday of February 16 has been declared "the greatest auspicious holiday of the nation", and has been named the Day of the Shining Star.
In February 2012, on what would have been his 71st birthday, Jong-il posthumously was made Dae Wonsu (usually translated as Generalissimo, literally Grand Marshal), the nation's top military rank. He had been named Wonsu, (Marshal) in 1992 when Kim Il-sung was promoted to Dae Wonsu.