Kim Jong Il was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea. He led North Korea from the death of his father Kim Il Sung in 1994 until his death in 2011, when he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Un. Afterwards, Kim Jong Il was declared Eternal General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).
Kang Chol-hwan is a North Korean defector, author, and the founder and president of the North Korea Strategy Center.
Vyatskoye is a small fishing village in Khabarovsky District, Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located on the east side of the Amur River, 70 kilometers (43 mi) northeast of Khabarovsk. The 76th Radio Technical Brigade is stationed there.
Hwang Jang-yop was a North Korean politician who defected to South Korea. He served as the Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly from 1972 to 1983 and was largely responsible for crafting Juche, the state ideology of North Korea. He defected in 1997, the highest-ranking North Korean to have defected.
Kim Jong Un is a North Korean politician who has been the third Supreme Leader of North Korea since December 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim Jong Il, who was the second supreme leader of North Korea, and a grandson of Kim Il Sung, the founder and first supreme leader of the country.
Koryo-saram or Koryoin are ethnic Koreans of the former Soviet Union, who descend from Koreans that were living in the Russian Far East.
Kim Ok is a former North Korean government employee who served as Kim Jong Il's personal secretary from the 1980s until his death in 2011. After the death of Ko Yong Hui in August 2004, she regularly met with foreign officials as the de facto first lady of North Korea, and was rumored to be the supreme leader's fourth wife.
Sakhalin Koreans are Russian citizens and residents of Korean descent living on Sakhalin Island, who can trace their roots to the immigrants from the Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces of Korea during the late 1930s and early 1940s, the latter half of the Japanese ruling era.
The Kippumjo, sometimes spelled Kippeumjo, is an unconfirmed collection of groups of approximately 2,000 women and girls reportedly maintained by the leader of North Korea for the purpose of providing entertainment, including that of a sexual nature, for high-ranking Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) officials and their families, as well as, occasionally, distinguished guests.
Kim Yong-chun was a North Korean soldier and politician. He was a leader of the North Korean military. He held the North Korean military rank Chasu, was Vice Chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea, and was Minister of People's Armed Forces. He held a minor post within the Workers Party.
Japanese people in North Korea are people of Japanese descent living in North Korea. They consist mainly of four groups: prisoners-of-war in the Soviet Union, Japanese accompanying repatriating Zainichi Korean spouses, defectors, and kidnapping victims. The number who remain alive is not known.
The Soviet Union was the first to recognize North Korea on October 12, 1948, shortly after the proclamation, as the sole legitimate authority in all of Korea. The Soviet Union supported North Korea during the Korean War. North Korea was founded as part of the Communist bloc, and received major Soviet military and political support. The comprehensive personality cult around North Korea's ruling family was heavily influenced by Stalinism. China and the Soviet Union competed for influence in North Korea during the Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s, as North Korea tried to maintain good relations with both countries.
Russians of various ethnicities have lived in Korea since the period of the Korean Empire. They include Koryo-saram, descendants of ethnic Koreans who migrated to the Russian Far East in the late 19th century, and Sakhalin Koreans.
Room 39 is a secretive North Korean party organization that seeks ways to maintain the foreign currency slush fund for the country's leaders.
Vice Marshal Ri Yong-ho was a North Korean military officer who was Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army from 2009 to 2012, as well as a member of the Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea from September 2010 to July 2012.
Kim Man-il was the second son of the North Korean founding leader Kim Il Sung and his first wife Kim Jong Suk. He was the younger brother of Kim Jong Il, the second leader of North Korea.
Choe Ryong-hae is a North Korean politician and military officer who currently serves as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and First Vice President of the State Affairs Commission, holding both positions since April 2019. Due to holding the first office, he was considered the head of state of North Korea before the country's constitution was amended to transfer this position to the President of the State Affairs Commission, Kim Jong Un.
Hyon Song-wol is a North Korean singer, band leader, and politician. She is the leader of the Moranbong Band and of the Samjiyon Orchestra. She was formerly a featured vocalist for the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble in the early 2000s, a pop group which found fame in North Korea in the late 1980s and 1990s. She has been a member in the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea since 2017.
North Korea and the former country North Vietnam established formal diplomatic relations on January 31, 1950. In July 1957, North Vietnam President Ho Chi Minh visited North Korea; North Korean prime minister Kim Il Sung visited North Vietnam in November–December 1958 and November 1964. In February 1961, the two governments concluded an agreement on scientific and technical cooperation. North Vietnam merged with South Vietnam in 1976 to become the modern country of Vietnam.
