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Kim Jong Il
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Portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il wearing glasses and a gray collared shirt, looking forward with a neutral expression. South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung, left, speaks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il during a lunch in Pyongyang after a summit on June 15, 2000. Kim Jong-Un and Kim Jong Il
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Portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il wearing glasses and a gray collared shirt, looking forward with a neutral expression.
Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il, c. 2001.

Kim Jong Il

North Korean political leader
Also known as: Kim Chong Il
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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Kim Jong Il (born February 16, 1941, Siberia, Russia, U.S.S.R.—died December 17, 2011) was the ruler of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He succeeded his father, Kim Il-Sung, who became the first premier of the newly formed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1948 and remained its leader until his death in 1994. The official North Korean version of Kim Jong Il’s life diverges from what historians and journalists outside of North Korea have...

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