Biography for
Jong-il Kim More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

16 February 1941, Vyatskoye, Khabarovsk Krai, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]

Date of Death

17 December 2011, P'yongyang, North Korea (heart attack)

Birth Name

Yuri Irsenovich Kim

Height

5' 3" (1.60 m)

Spouse

Kim Young-sook

(1974 - 17 December 2011) (his death) 1 child

Trivia

National leader of North Korea (officially styled "Supreme Leader of North Korea") from 1994 until his death in 2011.

Was portrayed as a villainous marionette in the comedy film Team America: World Police (2004). The creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone sent a gift reel to Kim.

Was often described as the 'Dear Leader' of North Korea. The title of 'Eternal President' was bestowed to his father, Il Sung Kim on his death in 1994. Kim Jong-il's title was Chairman of the National Commission of Defence, which is North Korea's most important governmental position.

Among his favorite movies were: Friday the 13th (1980), Freddy vs. Jason (2003), First Blood (1982), The Godfather (1972), Gone with the Wind (1939) and Amistad (1997).

His favorite actor was Sean Connery. His favorite actress was Elizabeth Taylor.

Married his wife Kim Young-sook in 1974 but they separated by the 1980s. Had four known children: Kim Jong-nam (son, b. 1970) with mistress Song Hye-rim, Kim Sul-song (daughter, b. 1974) with wife Kim Young-sook, Kim Jong-chul (son, b. 1981), and Kim Jong-un (son, b. 1984) both with mistress Ko Young-hee.

Was taught the "juche" philosophy of self-reliance by Hwang Jang-Yop. Hwang defected to South Korea in 1997.

Propaganda claims that Kim was born one year later, in 1942 on Mount Baekdu, with a double rainbow and a bright star in the sky heralding his arrival. A halo was supposedly seen over the mountain and a swallow foretold his birth.