Kim Jong Il in the context of "Kim Jong Un"

Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician, and dictator who founded North Korea, which he led as its first supreme leader from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. Afterwards, he was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Il and was declared Eternal President.

He held the posts of Premier of North Korea from 1948 to 1972 and President of North Korea from 1972 to 1994. He was the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) from 1949 to 1994 (titled as chairman from 1949 to 1966 and as general secretary after 1966). 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. Following the military stalemate in the Korean War, a ceasefire was signed in July 1953. He was the third-longest serving non-royal head of state and government in the 20th century, in office for more than 45 years.

Juche, officially the Juche idea, is a component of Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism, the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea. North Korean sources attribute its conceptualization to Kim Il Sung, the country's founder and first leader. Juche was originally regarded as a variant of Marxism–Leninism until Kim Jong Il, Kim Il Sung's son and successor, declared it a distinct ideology in the 1970s. Kim Jong Il further developed Juche in the 1980s and 1990s by making ideological breaks from Marxism–Leninism and increasing the importance of his father's ideas.Juche incorporates the historical materialist ideas of Marxism–Leninism but also strongly emphasizes the individual, the nation state, and national sovereignty. Juche posits that a country will prosper once it has become self-reliant by achieving political, economic, and military independence. As Kim Jong Il emerged as Kim Il Sung's likely successor in the 1970s, loyalty to the leader was increasingly emphasized as an essential part of Juche, as expressed in the Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System.

Juche has been variously described by critics as a quasi-religion, a nationalist or fascistic ideology, and a deviation from Marxism–Leninism.

North Korea ranks among some of the most extreme censorship in the world, with the government able to take strict control over communications. North Korea sits at one of the lowest places of Reporters Without Borders' 2025 Press Freedom Index, ranking 179 out of the 180 countries investigated.

In North Korea, all media outlets are owned and controlled by the government, and all news content are produced and censored by the Korean Central News Agency. The media dedicate a large portion of their resources toward political propaganda and promoting the personality cult of the Kim family (Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un). The government of Kim Jong Un still has authority over and control of the press and information and has been repeatedly ranked one of the top 5 countries in the world with the least amount of media freedom.

President for life is a title assumed by or granted to some presidents to extend their tenure up until their death or retirement. The title sometimes confers on the holder the right to nominate or appoint a successor. The term is often used by political leaders that aspire to legitimize their absolute power.

Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as the third supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim Jong Il, his predecessor as supreme leader, and a grandson of Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea.

From late 2010, Kim was viewed as the successor to the North Korean leadership. Following his father's death in December 2011, state television announced Kim as the "great successor to the revolutionary cause". He assumed various leadership posts, and also became member of the Presidium of the WPK Politburo, the highest decision-making body in the country. In July 2012, Kim was promoted to the highest rank of marshal in the Korean People's Army, consolidating his positions as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Kim Il Sung died of a heart attack in the early morning of 8 July 1994 at age 82. North Korea's government did not report the death for more than 34 hours after it occurred. An official mourning period was declared from 8–17 July, during which the national flag was flown at half mast throughout the country, and all forms of amusement and dancing were prohibited.

Radio Pyongyang reported that Kim had died from a stroke. His son Kim Jong Il was announced as North Korea's next leader with the title of "The Great Successor" (Korean: 위대한 계승자) that same day, marking the beginning of a dynasty of rulers in the country. Seventeen years later, he died on 17 December 2011 of the same cause of death as his father and the younger Kim's demise was announced 51 hours later.

The president of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Korean: 조선민주주의인민공화국 주석) was the head of state of North Korea from 1972 to 1998. The position was only occupied by Kim Il Sung from 1972 until his death in 1994. Aside from being president, Kim was also the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the National Defence Commission (until 1993) and Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army (until 1991).

Following his death in 1994, the position remained vacant until 1998 and his son Kim Jong Il was not given the title to succeed him. A constitutional amendment in 1998 named Kim Il Sung as the eternal president and abolished the position.

Officially, the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) – the ruling party of North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) – is a communist party guided by Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism, a synthesis of the ideas of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. The party is committed to Juche, an ideology attributed to Kim Il Sung which promotes national independence and development through the efforts of the masses. Although Juche was originally presented as the Korean interpretation of Marxism–Leninism, the party now presents it as a freestanding philosophy of Kim Il Sung. The WPK recognizes the ruling Kim family as the ultimate source of its political thought. The fourth party conference, held in 2012, amended the party rules to state that Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism was "the only guiding idea of the party". Under Kim Jong Il, who governed as chairman of the National Defence Commission, communism was steadily removed from party and state documents in favour of Songun, or military-first politics. The military, rather than the working class, was established as the base of political power. However, Kim Jong Il's successor Kim Jong Un reversed this position in 2021, replacing Songun with "people-first politics" as the party's political method and reasserting the party's commitment to communism.

The WPK maintains a leftist image, and normally sends a delegation to the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties, where it has some support. The WPK's party rules say it upholds "the revolutionary principles of Marxism–Leninism". However, a number of scholars argue that the WPK's ideology is better characterized as nationalist or far-right.