Death of Kim Jong-il

Kim Jong-il died on 17 December 2011 in Pyongyang, aged 70. The second leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il was the son of the country's founder Kim Il-sung and was groomed as his successor from the 1970s. He took full control after his father's death in 1994. His rule was marked by a military-first policy, a devastating famine in the mid-1990s, tight state control of information and the development of nuclear weapons, including the country's first nuclear test in 2006. He was known for his interest in cinema, and he arranged the abduction of a South Korean director and actress to improve the North's film industry. He died of a heart attack in December 2011 and was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-un.

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