Kim Jong-il (16 February 1941/1942 – 17 December 2011) was the supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly referred to as North Korea, from 1994 to 2011. By the early 1980s Kim had become the heir apparent for the leadership of the country and assumed important posts in the party and army organs. He succeeded his father and founder of the DPRK, Kim Il-sung, following the elder Kim’s death in 1994.
