On This Day
Kim Jong Il Turns 66 ... or 67
February 16, 2008 12:05 AM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Saturday is the North Korean leader's birthday. Critics surmise he will be celebrating his successes dodging U.S. attempts at arms control.
30 Second Summary
According to Kim Jong Il's official biography, he was born in 1942 on Mt. Packtul in Korea. Other reports place Kim's birth in Siberia on the same date in 1941.
Much of the history of the "Dear Leader" is shrouded in mystery and myth. His intentions for his nuclear program are similarly opaque.
The United States and North Korea came to an agreement in October of 2007 that North Korea would declare its nuclear capabilities and begin disarmament by Dec. 31st in exchange for aid.
Kim's birthday on Feb. 16 comes more than one and a half months after that deadline was missed.
This is not the first time that North Korea has failed to adhere to an agreement of this type. The 1994 "Agreed Framework" was meant to bring a halt the country's nuclear weapons production, but North Korea never held up its end of the bargain.
North Korea, considered by some to be the most censored country in the world, has been ruled by Kim Jong Il since the death of his father in 1994.
Kim Jong Il is widely known in the Western world for his eccentric lifestyle and his claims of remarkable accomplishments, such as scoring 11 holes in one on his very first game of golf.
Much of the history of the "Dear Leader" is shrouded in mystery and myth. His intentions for his nuclear program are similarly opaque.
The United States and North Korea came to an agreement in October of 2007 that North Korea would declare its nuclear capabilities and begin disarmament by Dec. 31st in exchange for aid.
Kim's birthday on Feb. 16 comes more than one and a half months after that deadline was missed.
This is not the first time that North Korea has failed to adhere to an agreement of this type. The 1994 "Agreed Framework" was meant to bring a halt the country's nuclear weapons production, but North Korea never held up its end of the bargain.
North Korea, considered by some to be the most censored country in the world, has been ruled by Kim Jong Il since the death of his father in 1994.
Kim Jong Il is widely known in the Western world for his eccentric lifestyle and his claims of remarkable accomplishments, such as scoring 11 holes in one on his very first game of golf.
Headline Link: 'Nkorea Rallies Workers, Makes Shoes for Kim's Birthday'
On Friday, North Korea was "bustling with preparations for all-powerful leader Kim Jong Il's birthday," according to AFP. "A shoe factory has been churning out new high-heeled shoes in celebration, according to Chosun Sinbo, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper published in Japan."
Source: AFP
Background: North Korea's nuclear program
Nuclear program and military
CBC News traces the history of North Korea's nuclear program and military capabilities. Despite an agreement in 1994 to halt North Korean nuclear weapon production, the North Koreans have since tested long-range missiles, and exploded a nuclear bomb in 2006. The North Korean military is the fourth largest in the world.
Source: CBC News
1994 "Agreed Framework"
Daniel Poneman, a senior fellow at the Forum for International Policy, describes the events that led up to the 1994 "Agreed Framework," and its impact through 2003. The framework was brokered by North Korea, the United States, South Korea, Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency. It was meant to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons production, but it ended up being one of the most significant agreements the country is charged with breaking.
Source: The 1994 Agreed Framework
Missed deadline
An agreement made in October 2007 for North Korea to declare its nuclear weapons and facilities by Dec. 31 is still unfulfilled by North Korea. However, the United States has provided aid to the country—a part of the bargain that was meant to be dependent on North Korean compliance.
Source: findingDulcinea
Biography: Kim Jong Il
Conflicting biographies
A state-endorsed biography of the "Dear Leader," Kim Jong Il, states he was born on Feb. 16, 1942, on Mt. Packtul in Korea. All the press in North Korea is controlled by the state, and this biography includes only praise for Kim Jong Il and the North Korean government.
Source: Korean Friendship Association
Western researchers put Kim Jong Il's date of birth as 1941 and the place of birth as somewhere near Khabarovsk, Siberia. Kim joined the Korean Worker's Party in 1961 and was chosen as his father's successor in the early 1980s. Kim became chairman of the National Defense Commission (which is still his official title) in 1998.
Source: History.com
U.K. newspaper The Guardian put together a quiz in 2007 in honor of Kim Jong Il's birthday. The quiz covers many of the accomplishments Kim has claimed. Allegedly, he scored 11 holes in one on his first round of golf, and a double rainbow and a new star appeared at the moment of his birth.
Source: The Guardian
Past birthday celebrations
Kim Jong Il's birthday in 2005 included lavish birthday festivities and feasts, despite North Korea's food shortages.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
For the 2003 birthday of Kim Jong Il, some North Koreans celebrated by giving small gifts to their children, the elite members of society received gifts from the state.
Source: New York Times
Opinion & Analysis: Baby steps or biding its time?
David Albright and Jacqueline Shire from the Institute for Science and International Security say that North Korea is taking steps toward fulfilling its agreement with the US—including having made a small declaration of its nuclear capabilities in November and beginning the disarmament of a reactor at Yongbyon. Albright and Jacqueline say that the United States is slow in delivering promised heavy fuel oil to North Korea, "hyped information that North Korea had a large-scale uranium enrichment program," and that it is not likely to take North Korea of its list of state sponsors of terrorism soon.
Source: The Washington Post
Helen Cooper writes that some think North Korea is simply biding its time until President Bush is out of office. Only then will it make any move toward fulfilling its agreement with the United States. Cooper claims that officials in Washington, D.C. have yet to agree on how to handle the situation.
Source: International Herald Tribune
Reference: North Korea's Iron Curtain
A 2006 New York Times article discusses the enormous differences between North and South Korea in terms of Internet access. The people of North Korea experience a near complete lack of Web access, and in 2004 the country banned cellular phones.
Source: New York Times
In 2006, the Committee to Protect Journalists named North Korea the most censored country in the world, with a worse record than countries such as Burma, Turkmenistan, Equatorial Guinea and Libya.
Source: The Committee to Protect Journalists
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