View source for Kim Pyong Il

{{Short description|Half-brother of Kim Jong Il (born 1954)}}
{{family name hatnote|Kim||lang=Korean}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[His Excellency]]
| name                = Kim Pyong Il
| image               = Kim Pyong-il.jpg
| caption             = Kim in 2010
| office              = [[Foreign relations of North Korea|North Korea Ambassador to the Czech Republic]]
| term_start          = 2015
| term_end            = 2019
| predecessor         = Pak Hyon-bo
| successor           = Ju Won-chol
| 1blankname          = {{nowrap|[[Supreme Leader of North Korea|Supreme Leader]]}}
| 1namedata           = [[Kim Jong Un]]
| office2             = [[North Korea–Poland relations|North Korea Ambassador to Poland]]
| term_start2         = 1998
| term_end2           = 2015
| predecessor2        = [[Paek Nam-sun]]
| successor2          = Geun Ri
| 1blankname2         = {{nowrap|[[Supreme Leader of North Korea|Supreme Leader]]}}
| 1namedata2          = [[Kim Jong Il]]<br />[[Kim Jong Un]]
| office3             = [[Finland–North Korea relations|North Korea Ambassador to Finland]]
| term_start3         = 1994
| term_end3           = 1998
| predecessor3        = Choe Sang-bom
| successor3          = ''post not filled''
| 1blankname3         = {{nowrap|[[Supreme Leader of North Korea|Supreme Leader]]}}
| 1namedata3          = [[Kim Il Sung]]<br />[[Kim Jong Il]]
| office4             = North Korea Ambassador to Bulgaria
| term_start4         = 1989
| term_end4           = 1994
| 1blankname4         = {{nowrap|[[Supreme Leader of North Korea|Supreme Leader]]}}
| 1namedata4          = [[Kim Il Sung]]
| office5             = [[Hungary–North Korea relations|North Korea Ambassador to Hungary]]
| term_start5         = 1988
| term_end5           = 1989
| 1blankname5         = {{nowrap|[[Supreme Leader of North Korea|Supreme Leader]]}}
| 1namedata5          = [[Kim Il Sung]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1954|8|10|df=yes}}
| birth_place         = [[Pyongyang]], North Korea<ref name=nkinfo/>
| occupation          = North Korean battalion commander<br />Former North Korean ambassador to Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland, Poland and the Czech Republic
| alma_mater          = [[Kim Il Sung University]]
| party               = [[Workers' Party of Korea]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|Kim Sun-kum|1982}}
| children            = Kim In-kang<br />Kim Ung-song
| parents             = [[Kim Il Sung]] (father)<br />[[Kim Song-ae]] (mother)
| relatives           = [[Kim family (North Korea)|Kim family]]
| module              = {{Infobox Korean name/auto
 | hangul       = %김평일
 | hanja        = 金平日
 | hanjaref     = <ref name=nkinfo>{{Cite web |script-title=ko:김평일(남성) |script-work=ko:북한정보포털| publisher=[[Ministry of Unification]] |access-date=7 November 2022 |url=https://nkinfo.unikorea.go.kr/nkp/theme/viewPeople.do?nkpmno=225 |language=ko }}</ref>
  | child        = yes }}
}}
'''Kim Pyong Il''' ({{Korean/auto|hangul=김평일|ipa_ko=kim.pʰjɔŋ.il}}; born 10 August 1954) is the younger paternal half-brother of the late leader of North Korea, [[Kim Jong Il]], and the only surviving son of former leader and [[Eternal President|president]] of North Korea [[Kim Il Sung]].<ref name="DailyNK">{{cite web|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|access-date=2007-10-25|periodical=Daily NK|archive-date=27 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927014305/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk03100&num=2040|url-status=live}}</ref> He worked as a diplomat and lived overseas between 1979 and 2019,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52450744|title=Kim Jong-un: Who might lead N Korea without Kim?|date=28 April 2020|publisher=[[BBC News]]|access-date=29 April 2020|archive-date=28 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428235207/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52450744|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=homeagain /> serving in various diplomatic positions such as ambassador of North Korea to [[Hungarian People's Republic|Hungary]], [[People's Republic of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]], [[Finland]], [[Poland]], and the [[Czech Republic]].<ref name=juwonchol /><ref name=newambassador>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nknews.org/2020/01/north-korea-appoints-new-ambassador-to-czech-republic/|title=North Korea appoints new ambassador to Czech Republic|date=30 January 2020|website=[[NK News]]|access-date=23 April 2020|archive-date=26 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426202055/https://www.nknews.org/2020/01/north-korea-appoints-new-ambassador-to-czech-republic/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Family background and early life==
Kim is the son of Kim Il Sung and [[Kim Song-ae]], Kim Il Sung's former secretary. Kim had one younger brother, Yong-il,{{efn|Not the same person as [[Kim Yong-il]], Premier of the DPRK Cabinet from April 2007 to June 2010.}} and one older half-sister, [[Kim Kyong-hui|Kyong-hui]], who would go on to marry senior official [[Jang Song-thaek|Chang Sung-taek]].<ref>{{cite web|periodical=Chosun Ilbo |url=http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200705/200705100024.html |date=2007-05-10 |access-date=2007-10-26 |title=Photos Surface of Kim Jong-il's Relatives in Europe |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016154231/http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200705/200705100024.html |archive-date=2007-10-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was named after another son with the same name, who was born in [[Vyatskoye, Khabarovsk Krai|Vyatskoye]] in 1944; that son, also known as [[Kim Man-il|Shura Kim]], allegedly drowned in [[Pyongyang]] in 1947.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asiapacificms.com/articles/north_korea_myths/|title=North Korea: Myth Making Dynastic Lies And Secrets|last=Lintner|first=Bertil|periodical=Far Eastern Economic Review|date=2003-07-10|access-date=2007-10-25|archive-date=29 October 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041029161135/http://www.asiapacificms.com/articles/north_korea_myths/|url-status=live}}</ref> He graduated from [[Kim Il Sung University]] with a major in economics, and later attended the [[Kim Il Sung Military University]], following which he was appointed a battalion commander.<ref name="DailyNK"/>

Kim Pyong Il's rivalry with half-brother Kim Jong Il goes back to the 1970s. In those days, Kim Pyong Il was known as a womaniser who threw raucous parties; sometimes, attendees at these parties would shout, "Long live Kim Pyong Il!". Kim Jong Il knew that this could be portrayed as a threat to the [[North Korean cult of personality#Kim Il Sung|cult of personality surrounding their father Kim Il Sung]], and reported the matter; Kim Il Sung was reportedly infuriated, and thus Kim Pyong Il fell out of favour with his father while Kim Jong Il strengthened his position.<ref name="Independent20120312">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/left-out-in-the-cold-the-man-who-would-be-kim-7561670.html|first=Shaun|last=Walker|title=Left out in the cold: the man who would be Kim|periodical=The Independent|date=2012-03-12|access-date=2012-10-22|archive-date=16 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116000725/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/left-out-in-the-cold-the-man-who-would-be-kim-7561670.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Kim Pyong Il married Kim Sun-kum, a woman with family connections to the [[Ministry of Public Security (North Korea)|Ministry of Public Security]], in 1982.{{sfn|Levi|2010|pp=39, 39n37}} They have a son, Kim In-kang, and a daughter, Kim Ung-song.{{sfn|Levi|2010|p=39n38}}

==Diplomatic career==
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 the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]].<ref name="DailyNK"/> He was promoted to the position of ambassador to the [[Hungarian People's Republic|People's Republic of Hungary]] in 1988, but was transferred to the [[People's Republic of Bulgaria]] in response to [[Hungary-South Korea relations|Hungary's opening of diplomatic relations with South Korea]] in 1989. This was followed by a posting in [[Finland]].<ref name="AsiaTimes">{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/FB14Dg04.html|periodical=Asia Times|last=Sano|first=Yoel|date=2004-02-14|access-date=2007-10-25|title=Happy Birthday, Dear Leader - who's next in line?|archive-date=4 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204033738/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/FB14Dg04.html|url-status=unfit}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|periodical=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|access-date=2007-10-22|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEEDC1E3BF931A35755C0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print|archive-date=27 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627125002/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/02/world/evolution-europe-stunned-north-korea-warns-soviets-meeting-with-seoul-leader.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1998, after North Korea closed its embassy in Finland to save money and prevent [[North Korean defectors|defections]], Kim 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 [[President of Poland|Polish president]].<ref>{{cite web|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 |access-date=2007-10-25 |periodical=Kyōdō News |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311213008/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDQ/is_1998_Oct_19/ai_53425530 |archive-date=2007-03-11 }}</ref> However, he remained as ambassador in Poland, and his daughter Kim Eun-song and son Kim In-kang went on to attend university in Poland.<ref name="DailyNK"/> He was a rare sight in [[Warsaw]]'s [[list of diplomatic missions in Poland|diplomatic community]], only occasionally appearing at functions held by the Algerian, Russian and Syrian embassies.<ref name="Independent20120312"/>

In 2015, he was transferred to the [[Czech Republic]]. He later returned to North Korea in November 2019 after stepping down as North Korea's ambassador to the Czech Republic.<ref name=juwonchol>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nknews.org/2019/11/kim-pyong-il-long-time-north-korean-ambassador-in-europe-returns-home/|title=Kim Pyong Il, long-time North Korean ambassador in Europe, returns home|date=8 November 2019|website=[[NK News]]|access-date=23 April 2020|archive-date=1 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501192209/https://www.nknews.org/2019/11/kim-pyong-il-long-time-north-korean-ambassador-in-europe-returns-home/|url-status=live}}</ref> In January 2020, Ju Won Chol, a former Director General of the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (North Korea)|North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] (MFA) Second European Department,<ref name=juwonchol /> replaced Kim as North Korea's Czech Republic ambassador.<ref name=newambassador />

==Relations with Pyongyang==
Kim Pyong Il reportedly continued to be considered a threat to the North Korean government due to his resemblance to his father Kim Il Sung. Reports claim he is under watch by both North and South Korean intelligence. However, he has kept a low profile, in contrast to his half-nephew [[Kim Jong-nam]] who gave frequent interviews with Japanese media, before he was [[Assassination of Kim Jong-nam|assassinated]] in [[Kuala Lumpur]] in 2017.<ref name="Independent20120312"/><ref>{{cite news|last1= Ryall|first1= Julian|last2= Rothwell|first2= James|title= Kim Jong-un's half-brother 'assassinated in Malaysia by female North Korean spies with poison needle'|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/14/kim-jong-uns-older-brother-killed-north-korean-spies-poison1/|access-date= 14 February 2017|work= The Telegraph|date= 14 February 2017|archive-date= 14 February 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170214140858/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/14/kim-jong-uns-older-brother-killed-north-korean-spies-poison1/|url-status= live}}</ref><ref name= guardian_death>{{cite news|last1=McCurry|first1=Justin|title=Kim Jong-un's half-brother reportedly killed in Malaysia|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/14/kim-jong-un-half-brother-reportedly-killed-malaysia-north-korea|access-date=14 February 2017|work=The Guardian|date=14 February 2017|archive-date=14 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214130722/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/14/kim-jong-un-half-brother-reportedly-killed-malaysia-north-korea|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38977543|title=Kim Jong-nam: Killing could be sign of 'brutal' N Korean regime|date=15 February 2017|publisher=[[BBC News]]|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-date=16 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216035134/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38977543|url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 2011, Kim was reported by South Korean media to be back in Pyongyang for a visit. Some sources claimed he was under house arrest there since May, though others speculated he was just visiting his dying mother [[Kim Song-ae]] or preparing to observe the anniversary of his father's death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/07/01/2011070100412.html|periodical=Chosun Ilbo|title=Kim Jong-il's Brother 'Under House Arrest in Pyongyang'|date=2011-07-03|access-date=2011-07-03|archive-date=4 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110704030650/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/07/01/2011070100412.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In December 2011, South Korean officials said Kim Pyong Il was in Poland and would not attend [[Death and state funeral of Kim Jong Il|Kim Jong Il's funeral]]. Kim Pyong Il and Kim Song-ae attended the [[Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung|funeral of Kim Il Sung]] in 1994, but North Korean television broadcasts deleted their images.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20111226000939|title=Kim Jong-il's half-brother appears to remain in Poland: official|periodical=Korea Herald|date=2011-12-26|access-date=2012-10-22|archive-date=26 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226184004/http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20111226000939|url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2019, Kim Pyong Il visited North Korea for reported medical reasons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nknews.org/2019/09/ambassador-kim-pyong-il-north-korean-leaders-uncle-recalled-home-in-june/|title=Ambassador Kim Pyong Il, North Korean leader's uncle, returned home this summer|date=13 September 2019|website=[[NK News]]|access-date=23 April 2020|archive-date=27 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427012419/https://www.nknews.org/2019/09/ambassador-kim-pyong-il-north-korean-leaders-uncle-recalled-home-in-june/|url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2019, Kim Pyong Il returned to North Korea after retiring from a long career as a foreign diplomat.<ref name=juwonchol /> He had not lived in his native country since 1979.<ref name=homeagain /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailynk.com/english/photos-of-kim-jong-ils-brother-kim/|title=Photos of Kim Jong Il's Brother, Kim Pyong Il and Recent Visits|date=2007-05-09|website=[[Daily NK]]|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-28|archive-date=13 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513173551/https://www.dailynk.com/english/photos-of-kim-jong-ils-brother-kim/|url-status=live}}</ref> As a result, his return to North Korea following his retirement as a foreign diplomat also marked his return to being a North Korean resident for the first time in 40 years.<ref name=homeagain>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rklPJC2CrhY |title=Why is Kim Pyong-il returning in 40 years? - YouTube |website=[[YouTube]] |date=6 November 2019 |access-date=23 April 2020 |archive-date=14 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914115355/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rklPJC2CrhY |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Family tree==
{{Kim dynasty (North Korea) family tree}}

==See also==
*[[Kim family (North Korea)]]
*[[Politics of North Korea]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Works cited===
* {{cite journal|last=Levi|first=Nicolas|year=2010|title=A Biography of Kim Pyong Il: The Second Dauphin?|pages=33–47|journal=Parallax|volume=VII|number=1|issn=1353-4645}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070816180527/http://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
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041010223635/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

{{Kim family (North Korea)}}
{{Portal bar|North Korea|Biography|Politics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Pyong-il}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of North Korea to Bulgaria]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of North Korea to Hungary]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of North Korea to Finland]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of North Korea to Poland]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of North Korea to the Czech Republic]]
[[Category:People from Pyongyang]]
[[Category:Workers' Party of Korea politicians]]
[[Category:Kim family (North Korea)]]
[[Category:Kim Il Sung University alumni]]
[[Category:Children of general secretaries of communist parties]]
[[Category:Children of presidents]]
[[Category:Children of prime ministers]]