Kim Pyong-il

Infobox Korean name
context=north
hangul=김평일
hanja=金平一
rr=Gim Pyeong-il
mr=Kim P'yŏngil

Kim Pyong-il (born 10 August 1954) is the half-brother of the current leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il, and the son of former leader Kim Il-sung.cite news|url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk03100&num=2040|title=Photos of Kim Jong Il’s Brother, Kim Pyong Il and Recent Visits|last=Kim|first=Song-A|date=2007-05-09|accessdate=2007-10-25|publisher=Daily NK] He was born to Kim Il-sung and Kim Song-ae, Kim Il-sung's former secretary. Kim had one younger brother, Yong-il (who died in 2000), and one younger half-sister, Kyung-hee (who would go on to marry senior official Chang Sung-taek). [cite news|publisher=The Chosun Ilbo|url=http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200705/200705100024.html|date=2007-05-10|accessdate=2007-10-26|title=Photos Surface of Kim Jong-il's Relatives in Europe] He was named after another son with the same name, who was born in Vyatskoye in 1944; that son, also known as Shura Kim, allegedly drowned in Pyongyang in 1947. [cite news|url=http://www.asiapacificms.com/articles/north_korea_myths/|title=North Korea: Myth Making Dynastic Lies And Secrets|last=Lintner|first=Bertil|publisher=Far Eastern Economic Review|date=2003-07-10|accessdate=2007-10-25] He graduated from Kim Il-sung University with a major in economics, and later attended the Kim Il-sung National War College, following which he was appointed a battallion commander.

In 1979, Kim began a series of diplomatic postings to several countries in Europe so that he could not influence politics in his home country. His first overseas assignment was in Yugoslavia. He was promoted to the position of ambassador to Hungary in 1988, but was transferred to Bulgaria in response to Hungary's opening of diplomatic relations with South Korea in 1989. This was followed by a posting in Finland.cite news|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/FB14Dg04.html|publisher=Asia Times|last=Sano|first=Yoel|date=2004-02-14|accessdate=2007-10-25|title=Happy Birthday, Dear Leader - who's next in line?] [cite news|publisher=The New York Times|last=Sterngold|first=James|title=Evolution in Europe; Stunned North Korea Warns Soviets on Meeting With Seoul Leader|date=1990-06-02|accessdate=2007-10-22|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEEDC1E3BF931A35755C0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print] In 1998, after North Korea closed its embassy in Finland to save money and prevent defections, he was posted to Poland. His ambassadorship was initially suggested to be in limbo, as nine months after his posting, he had yet to formally present his credentials to the Polish president. [cite news|title=Kim Jon Il's (sic) half brother's ambassadorship in limbo|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDQ/is_1998_Oct_19/ai_53425530|date=1998-10-19|accessdate=2007-10-25|publisher=Kyōdō News] However, he remained as ambassador in Poland, and his children Kim Eun-song and Kim In-kang went on to attend university there.

ee also

*List of Koreans
*Politics of North Korea

References

External links

* [http://www.nautilus.org/DPRKBriefingBook/negotiating/issue.html Korean Monarch Kim Jong Il: Technocrat Ruler of the Hermit Kingdom Facing the Challenge of Modernity] , by Alexandre Y. Mansourov, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies
* [http://www.pitt.edu/~ctnst3/ronbun.html The Kim Jong Il Succession Problem in the Context of the North Korean Political Structure] , translated by Titus North, University of Pittsburgh

Persondata
NAME=Kim Pyong-il
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Kim Pyeong-il, 김평일, 金平一
SHORT DESCRIPTION=North Korean diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH=1954
PLACE OF BIRTH=Pyongyang, North Korea
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=