March 10, 2014

North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, was elected yesterday to the nation’s highest legislative body, the Supreme People’s Assembly. He received 100 percent of the votes in his district, where 100 percent of registered voters turned out for the polling. Uniformed soldiers danced together joyfully following the balloting.

The Assembly consists of 687 deputies. Yesterday’s election was the first since Kim inherited power after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in 2011. The state-run Korean Central News Agency described Kim Jong-un’s election as “an expression of all the service personnel and people’s absolute support and profound trust in supreme leader Kim Jong-un as they single-mindedly remain loyal to him.”

Political experts on the situation in North Korea suggested that yesterday’s elections were intended to further consolidate Kim Jong-un’s power; all of the candidates were hand-picked by him; thus, older deputies were replaced with younger officials, whose loyalty to Kim is absolute.

Since assuming power, Kim has engineered a number of political purges to eliminate potential challenges to his rule. In the most dramatic of these, Kim’s uncle–Jang Song-thaek, once the second-most powerful man in the country–was charged with corruption, found guilty, and summarily executed. Experts on North Korea believe that the older deputies rooted out in yesterday’s election included people whom Kim feared may have harbored lingering loyalties to Jang.

Kim Jong-un holds power as ruthlessly as his father and grandfather. (© EPA/KCNA/Alamy Images)

Kim holds many titles, including supreme commander of the armed forces. His grandfather–Kim Il-sung, who ruled North Korea from 1948 until his death in 1994–established an absolute dictatorship, exercising total control over all aspects of society. North Korea remains a totalitarian state, where much of the population lives in profound isolation and dire poverty. A series of natural disasters coupled with an indifferent government resulted in the starvation of an estimated 1 million North Koreans from 1995 through 2000.

Adequate nutrition remains a problem. Since the widespread famine of the 1990′s, mismanagement, bad weather, and inadequate investment in agriculture have hampered recovery efforts. European Union nutrition experts have reported that state-issued food rations, on which two-thirds of North Korea’s population depend, comprise only one-fifth of standard daily nutritional requirements.

Additional World Book articles:

• North Korea 1995 (a Back in Time article)
• North Korea 1996 (a Back in Time article)
• North Korea 1997 (a Back in Time article)
• North Korea 1998 (a Back in Time article)
• North Korea 2000 (a Back in Time article)
• North Korea 2011 (a Back in Time article)

April 13, 2012

North Korea’s much-watched launch of a long-range missile capable of delivering a nuclear weapon failed this morning. The rocket broke up and crashed into the Sea of Japan shortly after being launched from northwest North Korea. According to the government in Pyongyang, the capital, the aim of the launch had been to put a satellite into orbit to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, founder of North Korea and grandfather of the current leader, Kim Jong-un.

A statue in Pyongyang commemorates Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea. (Courtesy of Dermot Tatlow, Panos Pictures)

International affairs experts described the failure as a major loss of face for Kim and his regime. Kim became leader of North Korea at the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in December 2011.

Additional World Book articles:

• North Korea 2011 (Back in Time article)
• Korea 1994 (Back in Time article)

Dec. 28, 2011

The two-day funeral of the late dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong-il, began with a three-hour procession in Pyongyang, the capital. Tens of thousands of North Korean soldiers bowed their heads as a giant portrait of Kim was carried through the streets. Kim Jong-il’s successor and third son, Kim Jong-un, walked beside the flower-draped hearse, one hand on the vehicle and the other raised in salute. Kim Jong-un was followed by his uncle, Chang Song-taek, a senior figure in the North Korea’s leadership who is married to Kim Jong-il’s sister, Kim Kyung-hee, a general in her own right. As the hearse passed, crowds of mourners wailed and threw themselves against soldiers who struggled to keep them from pushing into the street.

Kim Jong-il (left) greets then-President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea in 2000. © AP/Wide World

Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack on December 17. The body laid in state since his death was announced on December 19. A national memorial service was scheduled to take place at noon on December 29.

Kim Jong-il succeeded his father, Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994. Kim Il-sung had, with the support of the Soviet Union, established North Korea as a Communist state in 1948, and he was its first leader.

Although the North Korean public was told the Kim Jong-il died of “physical and mental overwork,” he was known to be extremely fond of French brandy, gourmet food, and movies. He was said to have had a collection of 20,000 films. Under Kim Jong-il’s rule, an estimated 1 million North Koreans starved to death in the 1990′s because of famine. During this period, Kim achieved his greatest ambition, arming the nation with nuclear weapons. North Korea has long maintained one of the world’s largest standing armies–1 million troops–which were fed and maintained at the expense of the rest of the population. North Korea’s chronic food shortages continued in 2011.

Additional World Book articles

Dec. 19, 2011

People openly wept on the streets of Pyongyang, capital of North Korea, upon hearing the news that their “Dear Leader,” Kim Jong-il, had died. The official news agency KCNA announced that Kim suffered a heart attack and died on December 17 at age 69. A tearful state media announcer confirmed that one of Kim’s sons, Kim Jong-un, is the “great successor” behind whom North Koreans should unite.

Kim Jong-il (left) greets then-President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea in 2000. © AP/Wide World

Fearing that Kim’s death could destabilize North Korea, the government of South Korea put its armed forces on high alert and declared that the country was on a crisis footing. In Tokyo, the Japanese government convened a special security meeting. According South Korea, the North test-fired a short-range guided missile prior to the announcement of Kim’s death. North Korea and South Korea remain technically at war 58 years after the Korean War ended on July 27, 1953. A permanent peace treaty between South Korea and North Korea has never been signed, and the United States has nearly 30,000 troops stationed in South Korea to discourage hostilities between the North and South.

Kim Jong-il succeeded his father, Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994. Kim Il-sung had, with the support of the Soviet Union, established North Korea as a Communist state in 1948, and he was its first leader.

Although the North Korean public was told the Kim Jong-il died of “physical and mental overwork,” he was known to be extremely fond of French brandy, gourmet food, and movies. He was said to have had a collection of 20,000 films. Under Kim Jong-il’s rule, an estimated 1 million North Koreans starved to death in the 1990′s because of famine. During this period, Kim achieved his greatest ambition, arming the nation with nuclear weapons. North Korea has long maintained one of the world’s largest standing armies–1 million troops–which were fed and maintained at the expense of the rest of the population. In 2011, North Korea continued to have chronic food shortages.

Additional World Book articles