Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

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 A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

was flown at

half mast Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a sal ...

throughout the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, and all forms of amusement and dancing were prohibited. Radio Pyongyang reported that Kim had died from a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. His son

Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...

was announced as North Korea's next leader with the title of "The Great Successor" () that same day, marking the beginning of a

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

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.

Background

On the late morning just before 12:00 noon of 7 July 1994, Kim Il Sung collapsed at his residence in

Hyangsan Hyangsan County is a Administrative divisions of North Korea, ''kun'', or county, in Chagang Province, Chagang province, North Korea. It was established, following the division of Korea, from portions of Nyongbyon County, Nyŏngbyŏn county. The a ...

from a sudden heart attack. His son

ordered the team of doctors who were constantly at his father's side to leave, and arranged for the country's best doctors to be flown in from Pyongyang. After several hours, the doctors from Pyongyang arrived, but despite their efforts to save him, Kim Il Sung died at around 2:00 am local time on 8 July 1994. His death was declared 34 hours later. The announcement of the death of the

supreme leader A supreme leader or supreme ruler typically refers to powerful figures with an unchallenged authority, such as autocrats, dictators to spiritual and revolutionary leaders. Historic examples are Adolf Hitler () of Nazi Germany, Francisco ...

was made live over

Korean Central Television Korean Central Television (KCTV; ) is a North Korean television service operated by the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee, a state-owned broadcaster in North Korea. It is broadcast terrestrially via the Pyongyang TV Tower in Moranbong-g ...

at noon by the channel's news presenter Chon Hyong-kyu on 9 July 1994. Kim Il Sung's death resulted in nationwide mourning and a ten-day mourning period was declared by Kim Jong Il. His funeral in Pyongyang was attended by hundreds of thousands of people from all over North Korea. Kim Il Sung's body was placed in a public

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

at the

Kumsusan Memorial Palace The Kumsusan Palace of the Sun (), formerly the Kumsusan Memorial Palace (), is a building near the northeast corner of the city of Pyongyang that serves as the mausoleum for Kim Il Sung, first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), Supreme Leader ...

, where his preserved and embalmed body lies under a glass coffin for viewing purposes. His head rests on a Korean-style pillow and he is covered by the flag of the Workers' Party of Korea. Newsreel video of the funeral at Pyongyang was broadcast on several networks, and now can be found on various websites. A further mourning period lasted until the third anniversary of his death in 1997.

Reactions

Korean Peninsula

Visitors Paying Their Respects To Kim Il-Sung

* – On 9 July,

Korean Central News Agency The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) () is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946, and now features ...

said that North Koreans "firmly resolve to remain loyal to the guidance of the Dear Leader Kim Jong Il". The agency described the so-called Dear Leader as "the reliable heir of Great Leader Kim Il Sung's revolutionary accomplishments". In another broadcast, Kim was described as the "inheritor of North Korea's revolution and the chief of revolutionary forces". On 11 July

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese public television

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

said that North Korea's government completely blocked people and vehicles from passing through Tumen City, situated at the foot of the

Tumen River The Tumen River (, , ; Korean pronunciation: tumaŋaŋ">Help:IPA/Korean">tumaŋaŋ, also known as the Tuman River or Duman River, is a long river that serves as part of the boundary between China (left shore), North Korea (right) and Russi ...

, on the

China–North Korea border The China–North Korea border is an Border, international border separating China and North Korea, extending from Korea Bay in the west to a China–North Korea–Russia tripoint, tripoint with Russia in the east. The total length of the borde ...

, where border trade is actively taking place. * – President

Kim Young-sam Kim Young-sam (, ; 20 December 1927 – 22 November 2015), often referred to by his initials YS, was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the seventh president of South Korea from 1993 to 1998. From 1961, Kim spent almost 30 ye ...

put South Korean troops on high alert and shelved a planned

Inter-Korean summit Inter-Korean summits are meetings between the leaders of North Korea, North and South Korea. To date, there have been five such meetings so far (2000 inter-Korean summit, 2000, 2007 inter-Korean summit, 2007, April 2018 inter-Korean summit, Apr ...

scheduled on July 25.

International reactions

* – Chinese leader

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

sent his condolences to North Korea, calling him “a close comrade-in-arms”. * –

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

did not send condolences due to the two nations' strained relations at that period, instead delegating the duty to the then-

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Viktor Chernomyrdin Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin (, ; 9 April 19383 November 2010) was a Soviet and Russian politician and businessman. He was the Minister of Gas Industry of the Soviet Union (13 February 1985 – 17 July 1989), after which he became first chairm ...

. * –

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

expressed his hope that the talks "will continue as appropriate". Clinton said: "I extend sincere condolences to the people of North Korea on the death of President Kim Il Sung. We appreciate his leadership in resuming the talks between our governments."

Funeral service

Kim Jong Il was chairman of the funeral committee. The committee also included Defense Minister

O Jin-u O Jin-u (; March 8, 1917 – February 25, 1995) was a North Korean general and politician. He was a close associate of Kim Il Sung. O served under Kim in the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, and then as commander of Kim's bodyguard. He was a ...

, and Vice President Kim Yong Ju, who was Kim Il Sung's younger brother. The funeral committee released

communique A press release (also known as a media release) is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public releas ...

regarding the funeral: The state funeral was scheduled to be held on 17 July but was delayed until 19 July. It included the observance of three minutes of silence throughout the country. Attendance to the funeral was two million people.

Funeral committee

The funeral committee was chaired by Kim Jong Il and had 273 members, including:Alt URL
*

Kang Song-san Kang Song-san (3 March 1931 – 25 June 2000) was a North Korean politician who served as Premier of North Korea from 1984 to 1986 and again from 1992 to 1997. He succeeded Ri Jong-ok in his first term and Yon Hyong-muk in his second term. ...

Ri Jong-ok Ri Jong-ok (10 January 1916 – 23 September 1999) was a North Korean politician who served as the Premier of North Korea from 1977 to 1984. He was elected to the Presidium at the 6th WPK Congress in 1980. He was appointed as Vice President o ...

Pak Song-chol Pak Song-chol or Park Sung-chul (; 2 September 1913 – 28 October 2008) was a North Korean politician who served as Premier of North Korea from 1976 to 1977. He succeeded Kim Il. He also served as foreign minister from 1959 to 1970. Biog ...

Kim Yong-ju Kim Yong-ju (; 21 September 1920 – 13 December 2021) was a North Korean politician and the younger brother of Kim Il Sung, who ruled North Korea from 1948 to 1994. Under his brother's rule, Kim Yong-ju held key posts including Politburo membe ...

Kim Pyong-sik Kim Pyong-sik (; February 10, 1919 – July 21, 1999) was a North Korean politician who served as Vice President of North Korea and chairman of the Korean Social Democratic Party. History He was born in Zenranan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan. Ki ...

Kim Yong-nam Kim Yong-nam (; born 4 February 1928) is a North Korean retired politician who served as the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, from 1998 until 2019. Due to holding the office, he was considered the hea ...

Choe Kwang Marshal Choe Kwang (; July 17, 1918 – February 21, 1997) was a military leader in North Korea. Biography Kwang graduated from the Soviet Military School and was a captain in the Northeast Anti-Japanese Army until the end of the Japanese occ ...

* Kye Ung-thae *

Jon Pyong-ho Jon Pyong-ho (, 20 March 1926 – 7 July 2014) was a North Korean officer and politician who served as the Chief Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, Korean Workers Party (KWP) Committee of the Cabinet of North Korea, North Korean Cabinet, ...

* Han Song-ryong * So Yun-sok *

Kim Chang-man Kim may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kim (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kim (surname), a list of people and fictional characters ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim dynasty (disambiguation), several dynas ...

Choe Thae-bok Choe Thae-bok (; 1 December 1930 – 20 January 2024) was a North Korean politician. He was a member of the Politburo and the Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea, and was chairman (speaker) of the Supreme People's Assembly for nearly 21 ...

Choe Yong-rim Choe Yong-rim (, born 20 November 1930) is a North Korean politician who served as the Premier of North Korea from June 2010 to April 2013 and was a member of the 6th Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Hong Song-nam Hong Song-nam (; 2 October 1929 – 31 March 2009) was a North Korean politician who was the Premier of North Korea from 1998 to 2003. He succeeded Kang Song-san. Born in Kangwon Province, he graduated from the Kim Il Sung University and studi ...

Kang Hui-won Kang may refer to: Places * Kang Kalan, Punjab * Kang District, Afghanistan * Kang, Botswana, a village * Kang County, Gansu, China * Kang, Isfahan, Iran, a village * Kang, Kerman, Iran, a village * Kang, Razavi Khorasan, Iran, a village * Kh ...

Yang Hyong-sop Yang Hyong-sop (; 1 October 1925 – 13 May 2022) was a North Korean politician who served as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly from 1983 to 1998 (from 1994 it was f ...

Hong Sok-hyong Hong Sok-hyong () is a politician of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He was secretary of the WPK Central Committee and Director of the WPK Planning and Finance Department. Biography Born in Seoul in 1936 during the Japanese occupati ...

Yon Hyong-muk Yon Hyong-muk (; November 3, 1931 – October 22, 2005), also spelt Yong Hyong-muk, was a long-serving politician in North Korea and at the height of his career the most powerful person in that country outside the Kim family. He was Prime Mini ...

* Ri Son-il * Kim Chol-su * Kim Ki-nam * Kim Kuk-thae *

Hwang Jang-yop Hwang Jang-yop (; 17 February 192310 October 2010) was a North Korean politician who defected to South Korea. He served as the Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly from 1972 to 1983 and was largely responsible for crafting ''Juche'', the ...

Kim Pok-sin Kim Pok-sin ( born 1925) is a North Korean politician. She was Vice-Minister of Light Industry from 1958 to 1966, and Minister of Textile and Paper Manufacturing Industry between 1971 and 1981. She served as Deputy Director of the Puongyang Lo ...

Kim Chang-ju Kim Chang-ju (, born September 20, 1985) is a South Korean sailor. He and Kim Ji-hoon placed 19th in the men's 470 event at the 2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officiall ...

Kim Yun-hyok Kim may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kim (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kim (surname), a list of people and fictional characters ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim dynasty (disambiguation), several dynasti ...

Jang Chol Jang Chol (, born 1955) is a North Korean politician and scientist. He served as President of the State Academy of Sciences under the Cabinet of North Korea and a member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. He was elected a d ...

* Kong Jin-tae *

Yun Ki-bok Yun may refer to: * Yǔn, Chinese name of Xionites, a nomadic tribe of Central Asia * Yun (Chinese name) (云/雲), a Chinese family name * Yun (ancient surname), an ancient Chinese surname * Yeon, or Yun, Korean (or Dutch given name) family name ...

Pak Nam-gi Pak Nam-gi or Park Nam-ki (21 February 1934 – 17 March 2010) was, until as late as January 2010, Director of the Planning and Finance Department of the ruling party of North Korea. There are doubts about his date of birth, with at least two un ...

* Jon Mun-sop * Yu Mi-yong * Hyon Jun-kuk * Won Tong-ku * Ri Ha-il * Kim Ik-hyon * Ri Chang-son *

O Kuk-ryol O Kuk-ryol (, 7 January 1930 – 9 February 2023) was a North Korean military general. He was Chief of General Staff of the Korean People's Army from 1979 to 1988. He also served as vice-chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Ko ...

* Kwon Hui-kyong * Kang Sok-sung * Choe Hui-jong * No Myong-kwon * Jong Ha-chol * Kim Tu-nam *

Paek Hak-rim Paek Hak-rim (October 1918 – October 5, 2006) was the Deputy Director of the North Korean Ministry of Public Security. He occupied a number of high-ranking positions, including serving from 1998 to 2003 on the National Defense Commission. He ...

Chi Chang-ik __NOTOC__ Chi may refer to: __NOTOC__ Greek *Chi (letter) (Χ or χ), the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet Chinese * ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter *Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon *Chi (surname) ...

* Ri Yong-u * Ri Chi-chang * Choe Pok-hyon * Kim Chang-o * Ri Sok-paek * Pak Yong-sop * Ri Chol-pong * Jong Jun-ki *

Hwang Sun-hui Hwang Sun-hui (; 3 May 1919 – 17 January 2020) was a North Korean politician who served in several high-ranking positions in the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), including in the Supreme People's Assembly and the Central Committee of the WPK. ...

* Sin Sang-kyun * Jong Ha-chol *

Kim Ki-ryong Kim may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kim (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kim (surname), a list of people and fictional characters ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim dynasty (disambiguation), several dynas ...

* Kang Hyon-su *

Pak Sung-kil Pak or PAK may refer to: Places * Pakistan (country code PAK) * Pak, Afghanistan * Pakpak Bharat, a regency in North Sumatra, Indonesia * Pak Island, in the Admiralty Islands group of Papua New Guinea * Pak Tea House, a café in Lahore, Punj ...

* Kim Hak-chol * Paek Pom-su * Choe Mun-son * Im Hyong-ku * Ri Kun-mo * Hyon Chol-kyu * Ri Kil-song * Im Su-man *

Ri Ul-sol Ri Ul-sol (; 14 September 1921 – 7 November 2015) was a Politics of North Korea, North Korean politician and military official. He played an important role in the administrations of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, achieving the rank of Wonsu, ma ...

* Kim Pong-ryul * Kim Kwang-sin *

Kim Jong-gak Kim Jong-gak (; born 20 July 1941)
, KCNA, 29 September 2010. is a

* O Ryong-pang * Kim Myong-kuk * O Yun-hwi * Kim Pyok-sik * Jang Song-u * Jon Jin-su * Chu Sang-jong *

Kim Yong-chul Kim Yong-chul (; 17 December 1924 – 14 March 2023) was a South Korean jurist and judge. Career He served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Korea The chief justice of the Supreme Court of Korea () is the chief judge of the Supre ...

* Cho Myong-rok *

Kim Il-chol Kim Il-chol (, 1933 – September 2023) was a North Korean military officer who was a member of the National Defence Commission and Minister for Defence. Biography Kim was born in Pyongyang in 1933. He graduated from Mangyongdae Revolutiona ...

* Paek Chang-sik * Kim Yong-hun * Kang Tong-yun * Pak Chi-su * Han In-chol * Kim Ha-kyu * Nam Sang-nak *

Hyon Chol-hae Hyon Chol-hae (; 13 August 1934 – 19 May 2022) was a North Korean military officer and politician who was closely tied to the ruling Kim family. He served as Kim Il Sung's bodyguard during the Korean War and reported directly to Kim Jong Il ...

* Ri Pong-won * Kim Pyong-yul * Chu Song-il *

Choe Yong-hae Choi () is a Korean family surname. As of the South Korean census of 2015, there were around 2.3 million people by this name in South Korea or roughly 4.7% of the population. In English-speaking countries, it is most often anglicized as ''Choi ...

* Choe Song-suk * Kim Song-ae * Paek In-jun * Ri Mong-ho * Mun Song-sul * Yom Ki-sun * Ri Yong-chol *

Jang Song-paek Jang may refer to: *Jang (Marshall Islands), part of Maloelap Atoll, in the Marshall Islands * Jang, Nepal, a village development committee in the Rapti Zone of western Nepal * Jang, the Tibetan name for Naxi, a county-level district of Luzhou ci ...

* Kim Si-hak

References

External links

On the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of the death of Kim Il-sung
at

Naenara Naenara () is the official web portal of the North Korean government. History Naenara was the first website in North Korea, and was created in 1996. Usage Naenara carries publications such as '' The Pyongyang Times'', ' magazine, '' Korea ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Death And funeral Of Kim Il-sung 1994 in North Korea Kim, Il-sung History of the Workers' Party of Korea Kim Il Sung Kim, Il-sung Kim, Il-sung 20th century in Pyongyang July 1994 in Asia Kim, Il-sung