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 ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

died of a sudden heart attack on 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 Mourning is the expression of an experience that is the consequence of an event in life involving loss, causing grief, occurring as a result of someone's death, specifically someone who was loved although loss from death is not exclusively ...

period was declared from 8–17 July, during which the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours a ...

was flown at half mast throughout the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

, and all forms of amusement and dancing were prohibited.

Radio Pyongyang Voice of Korea () is the international broadcasting service of North Korea. It broadcasts primarily information in Chinese, Spanish, German, English, French, Russian, Japanese and Arabic. Until 2002 it was known as Radio Pyongyang. The interval ...

reported that Kim had died from a

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

. In the years prior to his death, he had been receiving treatment for

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

as well as the hardening of arteries in his

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as ca ...

. His son

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Ki ...

was announced as North Korea's next leader with the title of "The Great Successor ( ko, 위대한 계승자)" that same day marked the start of North Korea becoming the world's first communist dynasty. Seventeen years later, he died on 17 December 2011 of the same cause of death as his father and Jong-il's demise was announced two days later.

Background

On the late morning just before 12:00 noon of 7 July 1994, Kim Il-sung collapsed at his residence in Hyangsan from a sudden

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

. After the 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, respecting the traditional

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

mourning period. The announcement of the death of the supreme leader was made live over

Korean Central Television Korean Central Television (KCTV; ) is a 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-guyok, Pyongy ...

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 interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be cons ...

at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, 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

*North Korea – 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 onli ...

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 ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese public television

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

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, also known as the Tuman River or Duman River (), is a long river that serves as part of the boundary between China, North Korea and Russia, rising on the slopes of Mount Paektu and flowing into the Sea of Japan. The river ha ...

, on the China–North Korea border, where border trade is actively taking place.

International reactions

*Russia –

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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

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, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Viktor Chernomyrdin Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin (russian: Ви́ктор Степа́нович Черномы́рдин, ; 9 April 19383 November 2010) was a Soviet and Russian politician and businessman. He was the Minister of Gas Industry of the Soviet Unio ...

. *United States –

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

expressed his hope that

the talks ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

"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, and Vice President Kim Yong-ju, who was Kim Il-sung's younger brother. The funeral committee released communique 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
*

* O Jin-u *

Kang Song-san Kang Song-san (3 March 1931 – 22 February 1997) 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 of ...

* Pak Song-chol * Kim Yong-ju *

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 South Jeolla Province. Kim Pyong-sik work ...

* Kim Yong-nam * Choe Kwang * 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 Korean Workers Party (KWP) Committee of the North Korean Cabinet, and director of the DPRK Cabinet Political Burea ...

* Han Song-ryong * So Yun-sok * Kim Chang-man *

Choe Thae-bok Choe Thae-bok (born 1 December 1930) is a North Korean politician. He is 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 years, from 1998 to ...

* Choe Yong-rim * Hong Song-nam *

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 * K ...

* Yang Hyong-sop *

Hong Sok-hyong Hong Sok-hyong ( ko, 홍석형) 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 Jap ...

* Yon Hyong-muk * Ri Son-il * Kim Chol-su * Kim Ki-nam *

Kim Kuk-thae Kim Kuk-thae ( ko, 김국태; 27 August 1924 – 13 December 2013) was an elder apparatchik of the Workers' Party of Korea, the ruling party in North Korea. Kim was born in North Hamgyong Province as the eldest son of Kim Il-sung's trusted g ...

* Hwang Jang-yop * Kim Pok-sin *

Kim Chang-ju Kim Chang-ju ( ko, 김창주, 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 ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , even ...

Kim Yun-hyok Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese f ...

* Jang Chol * Kong Jin-tae * Yun Ki-bok * Pak Nam-gi *

Jon Mun-sop Jon Mun-sop (November 24, 1919 – December 29, 1998) was a North Korean politician, member of the Supreme People's Assembly, the unicameral parliament of North Korea. Biography Jon was born in Manchuria on November 24, 1919. He took part in th ...

* Yu Mi-yong * Hyon Jun-kuk * Won Tong-ku *

Ri Ha-il Ri Ha-il (1935 - ) was a general and politician of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He was Vice Marshal of the Korean People's Army. Biography Born in Ryanggang Province in 1935 during the Japanese colonial period, he graduated from ...

Kim Ik-hyon Kim Ik-hyon ( ko, 김익현/金益鉉, 1921 - 15 January 2009) was a North Korean politician and military officer. He was member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. He was elected to the 11th convocation of the Supreme Peop ...

* Ri Chang-son *

O Kuk-ryol O Kuk-ryol (, born 7 January 1930) is a North Korean military general who served as Vice Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea, as head of the Operations Department from April 2009 to June 2016. The son of O Jung-song and n ...

Kwon Hui-kyong Gwon also written as Kwon () is a Korean family name. Some sources list as many 56 clans, but most of them were merged with the Andong Gwon clan under the Sijeung-gong faction soon after the establishment of the Goryeo Kingdom. Andong Gwon cl ...

* Kang Sok-sung * Choe Hui-jong * No Myong-kwon *

Jong Ha-chol Jong may refer to: Surname *Chung (Korean surname), spelled Jong in North Korea *Zhong (surname), spelled Jong in the Gwoyeu Romatzyh system *Common Dutch surname "de Jong"; see ** De Jong ** De Jonge ** De Jongh *Erica Jong (born 1942), Americ ...

* 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 * Ri Yong-u * Ri Chi-chang * Choe Pok-hyon *

Kim Chang-o Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese ...

* Ri Sok-paek *

Pak Yong-sop Pak or PAK may refer to: Places * Pakistan (country code PAK) * Pak, Afghanistan * Pak Island, in the Admiralty Islands group of Papua New Guinea * Pak Tea House, a café in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan Arts and entertainment * PAK (band), an Am ...

* Ri Chol-pong * Jong Jun-ki * Hwang Sun-hui * Sin Sang-kyun *

* Kim Ki-ryong *

Kang Hyon-su 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 * Kha ...

Pak Sung-kil Pak or PAK may refer to: Places * Pakistan (country code PAK) * Pak, Afghanistan * Pak Island, in the Admiralty Islands group of Papua New Guinea * Pak Tea House, a café in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan Arts and entertainment * PAK (band), an Am ...

Kim Hak-chol Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese ...

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

Kim Pong-ryul Kim Pong-ryul ( ko, 김봉률/金奉律 ,born 1918 - died July 1995) was a North Korean general of the Korean People's Army who served as vice Minister of the People's Armed Forces as well as member of the Workers' Party of Korea, North Korea's ...

* 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 Kim Myong-guk () was a North Korean politician and army general in the Korean People's Army. He was member of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and served as member of the Supreme People's Assembly, North Korea's uni ...

* O Yun-hwi * Kim Pyok-sik *

Jang Song-u Jang Song-u ( ko, 장성우/張成禹) (7 April 1933 – August 2009) was a North Korean politician and general. He is from Cheonnae-gun, South Hamgyeong Province. As the elder brother of Jang Seong-gil and Jang Song-thaek, he was the chief co ...

* Jon Jin-su * Chu Sang-jong * Kim Yong-chul * Cho Myong-rok *

Kim Il-chol Kim Il-chol (, born 1933) is a former member of the North Korean National Defence Commission and former Minister for Defence. He was born in Pyongyang in 1933. He graduated from Mangyongdae Revolutionary School and the "Soviet Union Naval Ac ...

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

Nam Sang-nak Nam, Nam, or The Nam are shortened terms for: * Vietnam, which is also spelled ''Viet Nam'' * The Vietnam War Nam, The Nam or NAM may also refer to: Arts and media * Nam, a fictional character in anime series ''Dragon Ball'' * ''NAM'' (video ...

* Hyon Chol-hae * Ri Pong-won *

Kim Pyong-yul Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese ...

Chu Song-il Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the H ...

* Choe Yong-hae * Choe Song-suk *

Kim Song-ae Kim Song-ae (; born Kim Song-pal; 29 December 1924 – September 2014) was a North Korean politician who served as the first lady of North Korea from 1963 to 1974. She was the second wife of North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung. Biography Born Ki ...

* Paek In-jun * Ri Mong-ho * Mun Song-sul *

Yom Ki-sun Yom ( he, יום) is a Biblical Hebrew word which occurs in the Hebrew Bible. The word means day in both Modern and Biblical Hebrew. Overview Although ''yom'' is commonly rendered as day in English translations, the word yom can be used in diffe ...

* 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 c ...

Kim Si-hak Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese ...

References

External links

On the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of the death of Kim Il-sung
at Naenara {{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 events in Asia