North Korea’s “great leader” dies. Kim Il Sung, dictator of North Korea since 1948, dies of a heart attack at the age of 82. In the 1930s, he fought against the Japanese invasion and, at the recommendation of Soviet authorities, traveled to the USSR for political and military training. A convert to communism, he joined the Red Army and fought in World War II. In 1945, Korea was divided into two spheres of influence, American and Soviet, and in 1948, Kim became the first president of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). Hoping to reunify the country by force, Kim ordered an invasion of the South in 1950, sparking the so-called Korean War, which ended in 1953 with no results. For the next 40 years, Kim ruled the country in profound isolation, even distancing himself from his former communist allies, and tensions with the South continued unabated. Through repression and a personality cult, the “great leader” maintained power until his death. He was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Il.
