A mural at the entrance of a pharmaceutical factory in Pyongyang, shown in June 2006, depicts North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who inherited a personality cult his father, Kim Il Sung. (Adrian Bradsha/EPA)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, right, joins hands with then-South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun after signing a peace declaration in October 2007. (AFP/Getty Images)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, right, is briefed by a field commander during a military exercise in February 2003. (AFP/Getty Images)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, left, then-U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and an unidentified military official applaud a performance in Pyongyang in October 2000. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP)
