Background
Kim was born to Kim Il-sung and Kim Song-ae, Kim Il-sung"s former secretary. 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.
Kim was born to Kim Il-sung and Kim Song-ae, Kim Il-sung"s former secretary. 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.
He is the current ambassador of North of Korea to the Czechoslovakian Republic. 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. 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!". 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.
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 of Korea in 1989. This was followed by a posting in Finland.
In 1998, after North of Korea closed its embassy in Finland to save money and prevent defections, Kim was posted to Poland.
His ambassadorship was initially suggested to be in limbo, as nine months after his posting he had yet to formally present his credentials to the Polish president He was a rare sight in Warsaw"s diplomatic community, only occasionally appearing at functions held by the Algerian, Russian and Syrian embassies. In 2015, he was transferred to the Czechoslovakian Republic.
Kim Pyong-il continues to be considered a threat to the North Korean government due to his resemblance to his father Kim Il-sung.
Reports claim he is under watch by both North and South Korean intelligence. In July 2011, Kim was reported by South Korean media to be back in Pyongyang for a visit.
In December 2011, South Korean officials said Kim Pyong-il was in Poland and would not attend Kim Jong-il"s funeral. Kim Pyong-il and Kim Song-ae attended the funeral of Kim Il-sung in 1994, but North Korean television broadcasts deleted their images.
His first overseas assignment was in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
