Worse Than His Father

     In 1994, at the age of 82, Kim Il Sung had a heart attack and as a result, died shortly after.  That is basically all that is known about his death.  "The Great Leader" as he was called, had finally met his maker and a huge elaborate funeral followed.     Before his death, years earlier, Kim Il Sung had already designated his successor, his son from first marriage, Kim Jong Il, nicknamed "Yura."  His youngest son from his second marriage, Kim Pyong Il was purposely kept away from Pyongyang to eliminate contact with his older half brother!  Kim Il Sung knew his son "Yura," and was afraid that harm would come to the younger Pyong Il if he was near his older brother!  So, Pyong Il was assigned as a North Korean Ambassador to Poland and other communist countries, as far away as possible from Pyongyang!  It is said that Kim Il Sung suspected that "Yura" was responsible for the death of his younger brother "Sasha" back in 1947!  Yet, he wanted "Yura" (Jong Il) to replace him because he wanted a "strong" leader, he felt that the younger Pyong Il was too "soft."
     So, in 1994, with the death of "The Great Leader," a new era began with "The Dear Leader," Kim Jong Il.  Kim Jong Il had plenty of time to prepare himself for the role.  He was now 53 years old, had served in various capacities in the North Korean government and held the title of the Supreme Commander of North Korean People's Army!  He had initiated multiple assassination attempts and other terrorist acts against South Korea as well as the United States.  A new, even more terrible era had begun for the poor people of North Korea. 
     Shortly after officially taking control in 1994, Kim Jong Il announced that North Korea was going to follow a new policy of songun, military first!  He poured just about all of the resources that North Korea could muster into building a bigger and stronger military.  The 1990s were not good for North Korean people.  There were terrible crop failures in agriculture, and the North Korean economy was so badly mismanaged that hardly any money was coming in.  People were starving!  The whole world knew about the horrendous conditions and famine, yet the large military was maintained, fed and equipped!
     To give you an idea of what he did, and to compare North Korea with other countries, here are some figures.  North Korea has a population of something like a little under 25 million.  Their GDP is around 40 Billion and per capita income of $1800.  I believe both figures are slightly inflated!  Yet, their military consists of 1.2 million men and women on active duty!  There are 9 and a half million active, reserve, and para military combined!  North Korea has the world's 4th largest military today!  China has the largest, followed by India and the United States.  North Korea is fourth!  But that isn't all.  They have the largest Special Forces in the world, all designed to infiltrate and conduct terrorist activity!  They have 25 Special Forces Brigades in uniform, and untold (classified) number of out of uniform para military!  With such a large military force, it is little wonder that a small poor country would have problems feeding its population, especially when the military, with the songun policy, takes first priority!
     Kim Jong Il is said to have been "officially" married once but has had three mistresses.  From his combined wife and mistresses, he had several sons and daughters.  His wife only gave him one daughter.  His first mistress, a movie actress, gave him a son and two daughters, his second mistress, a dancer, gave him two sons and a daughter.  His third mistress did not give him any children.  His favorite son, Kim Jong Un, was born to his first mistress, so the current leader of North Korea is a bastard in a true sense!  Mysteriously, his official wife and two mistresses sort of disappeared in time, only his last mistress (#3) remained visible before his death.  No one seems to know for sure what happened to the other three!
     Kim Jong Il was a complete nut case.  He was afraid of flying so he traveled everywhere in a special armored, luxurious train.  He indulged in all sorts of luxuries, is said to have owned a tremendous DVD library of movies from all around the world.  He loved Rambo movies as well as Godzilla! He was a great Elvis fan and NBA basketball was his favorite sport!  He fancied himself to be an expert on just about any subject and as mentioned earlier, in 1978 ordered the kidnapping of South Korea's best movie director and best actress.  He held them in prison until they agreed to teach North Koreans how to make movies, etc.  He ordered many wild kidnappings and killings.  His father Kim Il Sung could not control him!
     His favorite son was Kim Jong Un, who it is said was just like him, both physically and psychologically!  Kim Jong Un showed a mean, cruel streak early on.  His other sons, he felt, were all too "soft."  He even called one of his sons feminine!  All of his children except for the eldest daughter were born out of wedlock!
     Kim Jong Il had all sorts of medical problems, some of which were caused by his lavish life style.  He is said to have suffered from gout as well as epilepsy.  In the last few years of his life his health declined rapidly before his death in 2011 at age 70.  During his relatively short rule over North Korea, he managed to drag the country into desperate condition.  His rule lasted only 17 years, but it was through some of the worst period in North Korea's history.  Millions died of famine, and more people were sent to labor camps or simply executed under his rule.  He was definitely more cruel than his father Kim Il Sung, and he left the country in the hands of a then 28 year old, who many said was a clone of his father!