first Premier of North Korea (1948–72) and President (1972–94). In the 1930s and 1940s he led the armed resistance to the Japanese domination of Korea; following the country’s partition at the end of World War II he became Premier of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (1948). He ordered his forces to invade South Korea in 1950, precipitating the Korean War (1950–53), and remained committed to the reunification of the country. He maintained a one-party state and created a personality cult around himself and his family; on his death he was quickly replaced in power by his son Kim Jong Il (1942–2011). In 2011 Kim Jong Il died and was succeeded by his youngest and little-known son Kim Jong Un (c.1983– )