Kim Jong-il Dies: Power Passes to Third Generation
Kim Jong-il died in December 2011 on his private train, according to the North Korean government, which announced it two days later. He had ruled North Korea since 1994, when he succeeded his father Kim Il-sung. His regime presided over a famine in the mid-1990s that killed somewhere between 240,000 and 3.5 million people — the range reflects how little outsiders could verify. He accelerated the country's nuclear program, met with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in 2000 in the only inter-Korean summit, and maintained a regime with no free press, no political opposition, and no legal emigration. Power passed to his son Kim Jong-un.
December 17, 2011
15 years ago
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