Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung

Death and funeral of Kim Il Sung
A painting of Kim smiling
Date8–17 July 1994
LocationPyongyang, North Korea
ParticipantsKim Jong Il and North Korean military, government and Korean Workers' Party elites

Kim Il Sung died of a heart attack in the early morning of 8 July 1994 at age 82. North Korea's government did not report the death for more than 34 hours after it occurred. An official mourning period was declared from 8–17 July, during which the national flag was flown at half mast throughout the country, and all forms of amusement and dancing were prohibited.[1]

Radio Pyongyang reported that Kim had died from a stroke.[2] His son Kim Jong Il was announced as North Korea's next leader with the title of "The Great Successor" (Korean: 위대한 계승자) that same day marked the start of North Korea becoming a dynasty. Seventeen years later, he died on 17 December 2011 of the same cause of death as his father and Jong Il's demise was announced two days later.

  1. ^ North Korea Quarterly. Institute of Asian Affairs. 1 January 1994. p. 56.
  2. ^ "Kim Il Sung, N. Korea's Longtime Leader, Dies : Asia: Death of Communist dictator at 82 comes weeks before North-South meeting. Experts expect instability". Los Angeles Times. 9 July 1994. Archived from the original on 28 April 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2021.