Coming to power after the end of Japanese rule over Korea in 1945 following Japan's surrender in World War II, he authorized the invasion of South Korea in 1950, triggering an intervention in defense of South Korea by the United Nations led by the United States.

In 1945, Kim was four years old when World War II ended and Korea regained independence from Japan. His father returned to Pyongyang that September, and in late November Kim returned to Korea via a Soviet ship, landing at Sonbong. The family moved into a former Japanese officer's mansion in Pyongyang, with a garden and pool.

Feb 13, 2025 · Kim Il-Sung was the communist leader of North Korea from 1948 until his death in 1994. He was the country’s premier from 1948 to 1972, chairman of its dominant Korean Workers’ Party from 1949, and president and head of state from 1972.

Feb 12, 2025 · Kim Jong Il (1941–2011) was the ruler of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He succeeded his father, Kim Il-Sung, who was North Korea’s leader from 1948 until his death in 1994.

Apr 2, 2014 · Learn more about Kim Il-sung, the military-oriented premier and president of North Korea who headed the country for decades, at Biography.com.

Apr 25, 2017 · Kim ii-Sung was unanimously elected as president, a position he held until he his death in 1994. He was then declared the eternal president of the Republic. The post was inherited by his son Kim Jon-il who led until 2011 when he died and in …

The Kim family, officially the Mount Paektu Bloodline (Korean: 백두혈통), named for Paektu Mountain, in the ideological discourse of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), and often referred to as the Kim dynasty after the Cold War's end, is a three-generation lineage of North Korean leadership, descending from the country's founder and first ...

Kim Il-sung, who was the world's longest-serving head of state when he died, is officially referred to as the "Great Leader" and the DPRK constitution has designated him "Eternal President."

May 23, 2018 · Kim Il Sung (1912–94) Korean statesman, first premier of North Korea (1948–72) and president (1972–94). He joined the Korean Communist Party in 1931, and led a Korean unit in the Soviet Army during World War II. In 1950, Kim led a North Korean invasion of South Korea, precipitating the Korean War (1950–53). Chairman of the Korean ...

Kim Jong Il 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.