Kim Pyong-il
| Kim Pyong-il | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| North Korea Ambassador to Czech Republic | |
|
In office 2015 – Incumbent |
|
| Leader | Kim Jong-un |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
10 August 1954 Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
| Political party | Workers Party of Korea |
| Relations |
Kim Il-sung (father) Kim Song-ae (mother) Kim Jong-il (older half-brother) Kim Kyong-hui (older half-sister) Kim Yong-il (younger brother) |
| Children | Kim Eun-song (daughter) Kim In-kang (son) |
| Alma mater | Kim Il-sung University |
| Occupation | DPRK battalion commander DPRK ambassador to the Czech Republic |
| Korean name | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 김평일 |
| Hancha | 金平一 |
| Revised Romanization | Gim Pyeong-il |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim P'yŏng'il |
Kim Pyong-il (born 10 August 1954) is the younger paternal half-brother of the former leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il, and the son of former leader Kim Il-sung. He is the current ambassador of North Korea to the Czech Republic.
Kim was born to Kim Il-sung and Kim Song-ae, Kim Il-sung's former secretary. Kim had one younger brother, Yong-il, and one older half-sister, Kyong-hui, who would go on to marry senior official Chang Sung-taek. 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. He graduated from Kim Il-sung University with a major in economics, and later attended the Kim Il-sung National War College, following which he was appointed a battalion commander.
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.
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. He was promoted to the position of ambassador to the People's Republic of Hungary in 1988, but was transferred to the People's Republic of Bulgaria in response to Hungary's opening of diplomatic relations with South Korea in 1989. This was followed by a posting in Finland.
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Wikipedia