Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Kim Jong Il ruled until his death in 2011, when his son Kim Jong Un became the third generation to lead the country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Following Kim Il Sung's death, Kim Jong Il rose to become North Korea's supreme leader, and Ko became the country's de-facto first lady, accompanying her husband on military inspections and befriending his entourage.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
Kim Jong Il, the son of Kim Il Sung, expelled inspectors, withdrew from the NPT and resumed plutonium work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Samjiyon carries potent symbolism in North Korean propaganda as it is a stone's throw away from Mount Paektu, the peninsula's highest mountain where official accounts say Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, was born.
From Barron's ● Dec. 23, 2025
Born in either 1987 or 1988, Kim Yo Jong is Kim’s only sister, and one of the five children born to Kim Jong Il, who ruled North Korea from 1994 to 2011.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2025
"Maybe someone came to Kim Jong-il and said to him that we could use this," says Weich.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2024
Official statues and paintings depict the latter on horseback, while a famous poster of Kim Jong-il shows him standing on Mount Baekdu.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 10, 2023
The main thing I want, because I'm not a Kim Jong-il of cinema, and I don't want to force viewers to think like me, the desire is for the viewer to have an experience.
From Salon ● Jan. 9, 2023
In the 21st century, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was elected in 2014 with 100% of the vote while his father, Kim Jong-il, previously won 99.9% of the vote.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2022
Kim Jong-il gave luxury cars, watches, liquor or houses to his close aides.
From New York Times ● Apr. 15, 2022
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
