Snippets about Kim Jong Il's father, "the respected and beloved leader," Kim Il Sung, and the genesis of North Korea:

1912 Born April 15th as Kim Song Ju at present Mangyongdae section of P'yongyang to Kim Hyong Jik & Kang Pan Sok

1920's The Kim family fled to Jilin, Manchuria, where Kim learned Chinese; he was later jailed for subversive activities; and became a member of a Communist Anti-Japanese guerilla unit & took the name Kim Il Sung--probably from an earlier military hero

1931 Joined the Chinese Communist Party

1941 Commanded his Anti-Japanese guerilla unit; was driven out of Manchuria; fled to the Soviet Union to a camp near Khabarovsk; and became a Captain in the Soviet Red Army

1945 Installed by the Russians as Head of the Provisional People's Committee; conducted several purges, consolidating his power; established the Korean People's Army [KPA] (Choson Inmingun); and received arms and armament from Stalin

1948 The Soviet appointed Kim Prime Minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea [DPRK]

1950 June 25th Kim launched an invasion of the Republic of Korea [ROK] which started the Korean War

1960's Kim sided with China in the Sino-Soviet split, but maintained relations with the USSR

1966 Begins to develop his cult of personality--abandoning Marxism-Leninism for his Juche [Self-Reliance] ideology

1968 Captured the USS Pueblo and launched an attack targetting the Blue House--home and offices of South Korean President Park Chunghee

1972 Promulgated a new constitution under which he became President for life (and forever)

1994 July 8th died in P'yongyang of a heart attack