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,[a] and one older half-sister, Kyong-hui, who would go on to marry senior official Chang Sung-taek.[7] 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.[8] 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.[2]
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 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.[9]
Kim Pyong Il married Kim Sun-kum, a woman with family connections to the Ministry of Public Security, in 1982.[10] They have a son, Kim In-kang, and a daughter, Kim Ung-song.[11]
In 1998, after North Korea closed its embassy in Finland to save money and prevent 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 Polish president.[14] 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.[2] He was a rare sight in Warsaw's diplomatic community, only occasionally appearing at functions held by the Algerian, Russian and Syrian embassies.[9]
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.[5] In January 2020, Ju Won Chol, a former Director General of the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Second European Department,[5] replaced Kim as North Korea's Czech Republic ambassador.[6]
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 assassinated in Kuala Lumpur in 2017.[9][15][16][17]
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.[18]
In December 2011, South Korean officials said Kim Pyong Il was in Poland and would not attend Kim Jong Il's funeral. Kim Pyong Il and Kim Song-ae attended the funeral of Kim Il Sung in 1994, but North Korean television broadcasts deleted their images.[19]
In June 2019, Kim Pyong Il visited North Korea for reported medical reasons.[20] In November 2019, Kim Pyong Il returned to North Korea after retiring from a long career as a foreign diplomat.[5] He had not lived in either Pyongyang or the rest of his native country since 1979.[4][21] 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.[4]
^To keep the tree of manageable size, it omits five out of the seven known legitimate children of Kim Il Sung. Other children not shown in the tree are: Kim Man-il (1944-1947; child of Kim Jong Suk), Kim Kyong-jin (1952-; child of Kim Song-ae), Kim Yong-il (1955-2000; child of Kim Song-ae), and Kim Kyong Suk (1951-; child of Kim Song-ae). A stillborn daughter is also omitted. Kim Il Sung was reported to have had other children with women who he was not married to; they included Kim Hyŏn-nam (born 1972). Also, only some of the descendants of Kim Jong Il and Kim Jung Un (Kim Il Sung's successors) are included.
^Korean names often have a variety of transliterations into English, which can be confusing. For example, "Kim Jong-chul" may also be written "Gim Jeong-cheol" or "Kim Jŏng-ch'ŏl" among many other variations. See Korean romanization for more information.
^Official North Korean biographies of Kim Jong Il list his birth year as 1942. The Korean calendar is based upon the Chinese zodiac which is believed to characterize one's personality. The year 1942 (Year of the Horse), in addition to being 30 years since Kim Il Sung's birth may be viewed as a better year than others, thus creating a motive to lie about a birth year.
^Official North Korean biographies of Kim Jong Un list his birth year as 1982. The Korean calendar is based upon the Chinese zodiac which is believed to characterize one's personality. The year 1982 (Year of the Dog), in addition to being 70 years since Kim Il Sung's birth, may be viewed as a better year than others, thus creating a motive to lie about a birth year.
^Birth year for Kim Ju-ae is not publicly known. She may have been born in either late 2012 or early 2013.
