Chapter 4
Dear Leader

Assuming Leadership
Decline in Economy and Living Conditions
A History of Nuclear Conflict

In the summer of 1994, Kim Il Sung traveled to his retreat in the Myohyang Mountains to escape the heat of the city. En route to his summer villa, he stopped to inspect a collective farm. The midday heat had reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.78 degrees Celsius), and the visit had left the eighty-two-year-old weak and tired. Spending the day in the extreme heat had been too much for Kim, and he suffered a massive heart attack at his villa late that same evening. His chief secretary found him face down on the floor beside his bed. Doctors were summoned, but due to heavy rain in the area, they could not be transported by air, and the roads were largely impassible. In fact, one helicopter, carrying emergency equipment to Kim's retreat, crashed. The roads were in such bad shape that ground transportation was agonizingly slow. By the time the doctors arrived, Kim Il Sung was beyond help. He was pronounced dead at two in the early morning hours of July 8.

The news of the leader's death was kept quiet for more than twenty-four hours, while government officials planned how they would inform the people. The announcement was finally made in a television statement on July 9: “Our respected fatherly leader who has devoted his whole life to the popular masses' cause of independence and engaged himself in tireless activities for the

prosperity of the motherland and happiness of the people, for the reunification of our country and independence of the world, till the last moments of his life, departed from us to our greatest sorrow.”¹³

While it appears to be a fact that Kim Il Sung died at his summer retreat, some rumors surround the exact cause of his death. According to one account, a doctor was present when Kim became ill, but his son had fired his regular doctor, claiming that he was too old. Supposedly, the younger doctor was too inexperienced to handle such a serious emergency, and so the elder Kim died before a proper medical team could reach the villa. According to a different account, Kim Il Sung had become furiously angry with his son for sidestepping his order to provide more electrical service to the general public. In fact, he had become so enraged, he had walked out in the middle of a meeting. There is speculation that this upset led to his heart attack. Regardless of the exact cause of the elder Kim's death, though, a successor would be named, and that successor would be Kim Jong Il.

Assuming Leadership

With the exception of the televised funeral, where he was described as looking dazed, silently looking on as others made speeches, Kim was not seen in public for a long period of time after his father's death. Officially, he was in deep mourning, but other speculations rose about his absence. One had to do with his health. Kim had fallen from a horse the previous autumn, and some thought his physical appearance and absence from public might have to do with injuries associated with that accident. Another report indicated that he had fasted for several days prior to his appearance at the funeral so that he would look appropriately pale and wan. Finally, there were rumors of internal power struggles; some believed that if Kim took over, the military might overthrow him. Whatever the purpose, though, he kept a low public profile those first three years after his father's elaborate memorial service.

After a three-year official mourning period, during which time

the country was basically under his control, Kim Jong Il formally took office. Rather than assuming the office of president, Kim took the title Secretary-General of the North Korean Worker's Party in October 1997. This title had more staying power than that of president. According to the North Korean constitution, the office of president requires elections, whereas the office of secretary-general does not.

As for his other title, Kim had been known as “Dear Leader” since 1991, when his father appointed him supreme commander of the Korean People's Army. Now, he assumed his father's title, “Great Leader.” A year after taking over leadership of his country,

Kim announced that his father would be known thereafter as president of the country for eternity. He gave his late father the title “Eternal Leader.”

The new leader of North Korea was different from his father in a number of ways. First, there were physical differences. Kim Il Sung was larger than his son and had a deep, rich voice. According to most physical descriptions, Kim Il Sung was about 5 feet, 6 inches tall (1.67m), a little above average for the height of an adult Korean male at that time. Kim Jong Il, however, is only about 5 feet, 2 inches (1.57m), a small man with curly hair. Additionally, although father and son, the backgrounds of Kim Jung Il and his father could not have been more different. Kim Il Sung grew up in dire poverty, fleeing from place to place with his family to escape persecution by the Japanese. As he moved into adulthood, he lived the life of a guerilla fighter, kill or be killed. It was a life of physical hardships; he often slept on the ground and went without food. Kim Jong Il, however, never knew such challenges. The younger Kim had neither experienced the hardships of war nor, despite the fact he had been named head of the military, had any real military experience. He went to the best schools, lived in mansions with staffs of servants to satisfy his every want and whim, drove fine cars, and never missed a meal.

If political conditions in North Korea were oppressive under Kim Il Sung, they became even more so under his son. As the new leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Il was described as being even more ruthless than his father. It is said that from the time he assumed leadership, he micro-managed every element of the government, just as he micro-managed the cult of personality for his father. He established tight control over the daily lives of the North Koreans. Although the country was already steeped in suspicion and distrust, tensions increased to an even higher level when Kim assumed leadership. He increased surveillance of his own party officials. Officials were expected to turn in a list of all of their daily activities to Kim and could not hold meetings without his personal permission. When he did authorize meetings, he often goaded officials into criticizing each other. “He actually enjoys harassing party members,”¹⁴ said a former official who later defected.

Unlike his father, who would call in his senior officials and have discussions with them before deciding policy, whether this was done for show or if he actually incorporated the ideas of his officials or not, Kim made all the decisions for his regime. Every aspect of government was under his tight control. Except for a few family members and friends, Kim trusted no one. In addition to all of the constraints within the country, communications with other countries were so carefully monitored that North Korea was effectively shut off from the rest of the world, an isolated kingdom controlled by one man. Apparently, Kim had much to lose if word

got out about the extent of his lavish lifestyle, such as his eight palaces, stables, golf courses, swimming pools, hunting grounds, and Disney land-like amusement parks, for the enjoyment of his personal circle of family and friends. People who have been to his palaces say that the utter luxury and opulence of these mansions and their grounds is beyond imagination.

Kim Jong Il's Lavish Lifestyle

While many of his people scramble to find enough food to feed their families, Kim Jong Il enjoys the best his country has to offer, and, if he cannot find what he wants in North Korea, he imports it. Kim is known to eat twenty-course dinners. He may wash down such a meal with one of his favorite alcoholic beverages, Hennessy Cognac Paradis, which sells for $650 a bottle. This is about the same amount of money the average North Korean earns in a year.

However, Kim does enjoy some more common foods, such as pizza. His method of making sure he can always have pizza on hand was somewhat extravagant, though. He imported pizza ovens and two chefs. He brought in the chefs to teach his personal chefs how to properly prepare pizza.

Other examples reveal his lavish lifestyle as well. For instance, in 1998, he imported two hundred Class S Mercedes automobiles at a cost of $20 million. He is said to own six villas and mansions outside of North Korea in addition to the homes he owns in his country. He is also reported to have billions of dollars in bank accounts in Switzerland.

Although he had known nothing but wealth and privilege throughout his life, as leader of the country, Kim now lived the life of kings and potentates straight from the pages of fairy tales. He had personal staff to attend to his every desire and need, from doctors to dancing troupes. All eight palaces maintain full-time

staffs, whether Kim is in attendance or not. He amuses himself by riding motorcycles on one of his estates or taking cruises on his personal yacht.

“In [a] real sense, he is the richest man in the world. There are not limits on what he can do. In South Korea there are rich men but I have never seen any facilities here which can rival what Kim has,”¹⁵ said Lee Young Guk, Kim's former bodyguard.

From the beginning of Kim's absolute hold on power, North Korea has been the exact opposite of a democratic country. In a democracy, the leaders are supposed to work for and support the good of the people. However, in North Korea, the people work to support the lavish lifestyle of their leader. The economic gap between the average North Korean and Kim Jong Il is beyond enormous. For example, whereas Kim spends more than half of a million dollars a year on his favorite cognac, a type of liquor, the average North Korean earns the equivalent of only $600 to $900 a year.

Decline in Economy and Living Conditions

Economic problems did not begin when Kim Jong Il took office. His father had experienced a great deal of difficulty managing the economy. In fact, according to a number of economists, the North Korean economy dropped anywhere from 5 percent to 7 percent per year between 1990 and 1997, the year Kim took office.

North Korea has never had a strong economy, and a number of events occurred through the 1980s and 1990s that made matters worse. First, the country lost trade agreements with China and with the Soviet Bloc countries, the former Soviet Union. The Soviet Union demanded cash payment for exports it shipped to North Korea, and North Korea did not have the money to pay them. Then, conditions worsened during the floods of the 1990s, described as the worst in one hundred years. They destroyed most of the crops and flooded the coal mines, which seriously affected energy production. Finally, the flooding was followed by several years of severe drought. This combination of weather disasters resulted in an economy in shambles.

Additionally, the government did not listen to the needs of its people. Because the government carefully monitored the media, neither word of the widespread shortages and other economic problems nor criticism were tolerated. Kim Jong Il's government attempted measures, called shortsighted and rash by some, in an effort to stimulate the economy. For instance, although Kim's government was not responsible for the flooding, the government-ordered felling of huge numbers of trees, apparently under

Kim's direction, caused added topsoil erosion during the flooding. Flooding and erosion wiped out more 15 percent of the farmable land, causing an estimated $15 billion in damages. With the loss of cropland and lacking grain, energy, and fertilizer; the agricultural output of the country plummeted by nearly 50 percent. People coped by gathering wild roots, greens, herbs, and vegetables, when they could find them. Some were reduced to eating grass, leaves, and bark from trees. Illegal markets, called black markets, appeared throughout the country, where people sold scavenged or stole items to buy what little food was available. As tightly controlled as the government was, though, times were so hard it could do little about these activities.

With flooding, drought, economic mismanagement, and political isolationism; North Korea plunged into a nationwide famine. Their state-run health system collapsed. Hospitals lacked the necessary medicine and equipment to treat patients. Due to a shortage of electricity and chlorine, a chemical used to make water safe to drink, not enough clean drinking and cooking water remained to meet the people's daily needs. The percentage of people who had access to safe drinking water declined from 86 percent to 53 percent.

The decline in living standards dropped the life expectancy of the average North Korean from 73.2 years to 66.8 years. Additionally, the infant mortality rate climbed from 14 to 22.5 deaths per 1,000 live births. Death rates for children under five years of age grew from 27 to 48 per 1,000 children. The drop in vaccines for childhood diseases from 90 percent to 50 percent was a contributor to this fact. Many children and adults suffered from malnutrition, dysentery, and vitamin and iodine deficiencies. As many as 2.5 million North Koreans may have died from a lack of sufficient food or from eating dangerous substances out of desperation.

North Korea was not able to keep up with other countries in industry either. The country became essentially bankrupt and could not pay for goods it imported. Kim blamed many of the economic problems and food shortages on lazy party officials. He condemned his subordinates for the fact that people had little or no food. He absolved himself of any responsibility for economic

problems stating, “I cannot solve all the problems…as I have to control important sectors such as the military and the party as well. If I concentrated only on the economy there would be irrecoverable damage to the revolution. The Great Leader told me when he was alive never to be involved in economic projects, just concentrate on the military and the party and leave economics to party functionaries. If I do delve into economics, then I cannot run the party and military effectively.”¹⁶

While Kim's people went without, Kim concentrated on building his armed forces, investing one quarter of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the military. The GDP is the total market value of goods, services, and capital produced within a country for a period of time, usually a year. That money was not enough to feed his forces. Food shortages led soldiers to steal from civilians and sometimes desert the army. One soldier who deserted the army and defected to South Korea said that his squad would go on food raids two or three times a month. Officials broadcast messages by television and radio, directing the farmers to provide more food for the military. They actually accused the farmers of hiding food. Officials remained in their offices and relied on the media to issue their directives rather than going out into the field and visiting the farms themselves. Few people received these messages, however, since television and radio require electricity, and there was no electricity in most outlying areas.

Natural disasters and economic mismanagement were not the sole causes of North Korea's economic problems. Internal problems were made worse by economic sanctions. Economic sanctions are the withholding of goods and services. Other countries, upset that North Korea had become involved in nuclear weapons testing and development, imposed these sanctions. The North Koreans even sold some of their weapons to countries that were politically unstable and potentially dangerous to the West, such as Iran. Some world leaders felt that Kim Jong Il and his country were using nuclear weapons as a form of worldwide blackmail.

A History of Nuclear Conflict

North Korea has a long history of nuclear research and development. The country began its involvement with nuclear programs in the 1960s, during Kim Il Sung's early days in office. Its first plutonium, only five grams, was produced in 1975. Plutonium is a naturally radioactive element. It occurs naturally in uranium, but is usually developed in nuclear reactors. This element is used to produce powerful bombs.

However, in 1985, North Korea signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), agreeing not to produce bombs and to open all nuclear sites for inspection. It was not a free offer, though. The Soviet Union promised to provide North Korea with several larger power reactors for peacetime purposes. Later that same year, North Korea began building a reactor capable of producing seven to ten bombs a year. Similar activities continued until 1987, when North Korea missed its first eighteen-month

deadline for the beginning of inspections. They were granted an additional eighteen-month extension. They missed their second deadline in 1988, and by 1989, North Korea abandoned all pretense of compliance and openly refused the inspections. Additionally, they were selling scud missiles to Iran. Scuds are relatively small ballistic missiles with motorized guidance systems.

Then, in 1993, a year before Kim Il Sung's death, North Korea completely withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation treaty. That same year, Moscow expelled a North Korean diplomat for attempting to lure Russian scientists to North Korea. North Korea continued their plutonium production, and U.S. intelligence officials said there was a better than 50/50 chance that North Korea possessed one, if not two, bombs.

Plutonium

Plutonium is a rare radioactive metallic chemical that is extremely toxic. People can become contaminated by this substance from ingesting it in foods, breathing it, or getting it into open wounds. More than one-third of the energy created in most nuclear power plants comes from plutonium. Nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s and 1960s released huge amounts of this toxic substance into the atmosphere. In fact, since 1945, 770 kilograms have been released into the atmosphere as a result of this testing. No chemical process can destroy it, but it can be mixed with radioactive isotopes or uranium to make it useless to terrorist groups.

Despite its use as a weapon of mass destruction, plutonium can also be a helpful, even a life-saving substance. It is used in space probes and was even used at one time to power artificial hearts and pacemakers.

By 1994, the United States announced its intent of uniting

a number of countries in imposing economic sanctions against North Korea if the country continued to refuse inspections. That same year, when former U.S. president Jimmy Carter met with Kim Il Sung, the North Korean president offered to freeze their nuclear program if the United States joined him in high-level negotiations. However, Kim Il Sung died that year. Kim's death did not end the talks; it merely delayed them. The talks resumed in Geneva, Switzerland, in early August of that same year. Within a week, negotiators outlined an agreement. According to the document, North Korea would abandon gas graphite nuclear plants in favor of lightweight reactor facilities. They also discussed the 8,000 irradiated fuel rods North Korea possessed, its facility that could extract sufficient plutonium from those rods to make several nuclear weapons, and the ever-present issue of inspections.

The inspection issue produced a stalemate. The North Korean representative stated that his country would never submit to inspections that infringed on national sovereignty, whereas the U.S. negotiators insisted that such inspections had to be part of the agreement. Finally, the North Korean negotiator said that they might concede to inspections after his country received about 80 percent of the light-water reactors it had been promised. Then, on October 21, 1994, the agreement was signed. According to the terms, the United States would supply North Korea with 500,000 tons of fuel to supplement their energy needs and would additionally provide light-water reactors by 2003. For its part, North Korea agreed with the terms for inspections and promised to dismantle its existing nuclear operations.

Although the country was in the midst of an official three-year mourning period and had signed an agreement tentatively agreeing to inspections, North Korea continued to pursue nuclear activities. They supplied Iran with additional scud missiles and announced they would no longer respect the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. In fact, in 1996, North Korea held three days of military exercises in the zone. Additionally, a North Korean submarine, believed to be involved in spying on its neighbor to the south, ran aground on the South Korean coastline. South Korea demanded, and received, an apology from North Korea for the incident.

The next year, one of Kim Jong Il's top advisors defected to South Korea. He informed South Korean officials that based on his knowledge of North Korean nuclear activities, the country had enough nuclear weapons to use against both South Korea and Japan.

Signed agreements apparently had little effect on North Korean production of plutonium and missiles. In the summer of 1998 North Korean representatives stated that they would continue to build and export missiles with nuclear capabilities. In fact, in 1998, North Korea launched a three-stage rocket, carrying a satellite. Intelligence sources state that such a rocket could reach the United States. Additionally, intelligence sources reported that North Korea was building a large underground facility, one that might be a reprocessing plant or a nuclear reactor. By the summer of 1999 sources reported that North Korea had enough weapon-grade plutonium to create several nuclear warheads.

As for Kim Jong Il's role in North Korea's nuclear development, it appeared that the small man and his tiny country intended to take on the rest of the world or at least hold it hostage by constant threats of nuclear retaliation. Under Kim Jong Il's leadership, North Korea continues to oppose other countries in a virtual ping-pong game of agreements and broken promises, an ongoing situation that causes other countries to distrust Kim and his motives.