Gallery: Nukes, Missiles and Porn: Kim Jong-Il’s Awful Legacy
01kims-missile-fetish
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il is dead. He leaves behind an inexperienced twentysomething son as his successor, as well as nervous questions about the future of the violent Stalinist regime. But can anyone truly replace the Dear Leader? It'll be a tough job for anyone trying to fill his platform shoes. Kim consistently frustrated adversaries and allies alike with his mercurial ways. He tested nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in bids to shake down the United States for aid. He sold dangerous weapons tech to whichever rogue regime was buying. And toward the end of his life, he brought the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war by having his son attack South Korea in order to burnish his future military credentials. Check out some of the more infamous moments that punctuated Kim's life, from his ballistic fireworks over Japan to his hard-charging, porn-hoarding lifestyle. Kim's Missile Fetish -------------------- In the late 1990s, Kim Jong-il gave the United States and its East Asian allies a scare by testing a [Taepodong-1 ballistic missile](http://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/01/world/north-korea-fires-missile-over-japanese-territory.html?scp=2&sq=taepodong-1&st=cse) over Japan. The three-stage missile was supposed to launch a satellite into orbit, but it flopped. The third stage of the rocket carrying the satellite ripped apart in [the air over Pacific Ocean](http://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/15/world/us-calls-north-korean-rocket-a-failed-satellite.html?scp=1&sq=%22taepodong-1%22&st=cse), despite North Korea's claims of success. But the incident still spooked the Japanese, who subsequently signed on to start researching the [Theater Wide Defense](http://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/japans-evolving-security-policies/) missile shield project with the U.S. Navy. And it touched off a wave of panic in the U.S. about the North's [missile proliferation](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/12/newt-gingrich-boy-genius/?pid=983). Since then, North Korea has kept lighting off missiles whenever it's feeling anxious or wants to squeeze concessions out of the United States and the region. Subsequent tests haven't fared much better than that 1998 attempt. A 2006 [Taepodong-2](http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/nukes/nuclearweapons/Taepodong.html) exploded in the air shortly after launch and another fired in 2009 failed to get its [satellite into orbit](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/04/north-koreas-sa/). On Monday, North Korea saluted the Dear Leader's passing with [another missile test](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/12/kim-dead-north-korea-missile/), letting the U.S. and its regional allies know it would keep up the North's traditional belligerence in his absence.
02the-nork-nukes
The Nork Nukes -------------- Kim managed to make his father's quest of a North Korean nuclear bomb a reality, demonstrating it to the world for the first time in 2006 and again in 2009. Kim's father, Kim Il-sung, reportedly started the country's nuclear weapons program as early as [the 1960s](http://cns.miis.edu/north_korea/dprkmotv.pdf). But it was Kim Jong-il who shepherded the the weapons program toward its first working nuclear device. After years failing to sell the United States on a promise to end nuclear weapons work in exchange for diplomatic goodies, North Korea used plutonium fuel from its reactor to build a nuclear bomb. The device's yield was less than a [kiloton's worth of explosive power](http://dni.gov/announcements/20061016_release.pdf), according to the Director of National Intelligence. The relatively [small size of the bomb](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/10/world/asia/10detect.html) led some to speculate that it produced a less powerful explosion than Kim had hoped for. Despite the doubts, Kim made up for the uncertainty in 2009 with a [larger nuclear test](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/05/north-koreas-nuke-how-big/) of around four kilotons. Before he died, Kim also gave North Korea another path to the bomb by starting a [uranium enrichment program](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/11/surprise-north-korea-builds-a-huge-new-uranium-plant/). Now that Kim's dead, U.S. officials are wondering just who will [inherit the nuclear weapons](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/checkpoint-washington/post/north-korea-nuclear-fears-heightened-by-leaders-death/2011/12/19/gIQAZqJW4O_blog.html) he helped build. It's also worth wondering where the technology he left behind will end up. Under Kim, North Korea helped Syria [secretly build a nuclear reactor](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2007/09/israel-hits-syr/) that Israel destroyed in 2007.
03the-cheonan
The *Cheonan* ------------- In March of 2010, a South Korean navy ship, [the *Cheonan*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/04/north-koreas-human-torpedoes-myth-or-military-threat/), sank in the waters off South Korea's maritime border with the North, killing over 40 sailors. After a lengthy investigation, South Korea determined that a torpedo fired from a North Korean submarine had sunk the ship. Why would Pyongyang risk rekindling the Korean War? Most likely, so Kim could preserve his family dynasty. After his health started to decline following an [apparent stroke](http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j2zReXndGtxbEQ9gsY3SWxImKHHw) in 2008, Kim knew his young son Kim Jong-un needed credibility with the North's powerful military if he was going to lead the country. Kim Jong-il reportedly allowed his son to "[mastermind](http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/08/03/2011080300499.html)" the attack in order to prove his worth. Now that papa Kim is dead, Kim Jong-un is probably hoping the *Cheonan* sinking stays fresh in the minds of North Korea's military brass to help ensure a smooth transition from father to son. *Photo: Wikipedia*
04shelling-yeonpyeong
Shelling Yeonpyeong ------------------- Kim Jong-il's attempt at grooming his son for leadership brought the Korean Peninsula to the edge of war a second time in the span of a year. In November 2010, North Korea shelled a South Korean island along the disputed maritime border between the two Koreas. The attack on [Yeonpyeong Island](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/11/howitzers-blast-jets-readied-after-north-korea-shells-south/) killed two South Korean marines and prompted fears of a tit-for-tat escalation between North and South that would lead to war. Once again, Kim reportedly engineered it so that his son could claim credit. North Korean documents leaked from China claim that [Kim Jong-un](http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/08/03/2011080300499.html) "made sure that multiple rocket launchers and coast artillery batteries would be mobilized and a torrent of shells would pound waters near Baeknyeong and Yeonpyeong Islands several times." While the rest of the world braced for war, Kim Jong-il relaxed as if nothing had happened, attending to the important business of inspecting [coastal duck farms](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/11/kim-chillaxes-at-a-duck-farm-during-korea-showdown/).
05kims-weapons-bazaar
Kim's Weapons Bazaar -------------------- Kim didn't just keep his weapons technology all to himself. He turned to the global black market to cash in on his instruments of death. If you were a rogue regime looking for some kit, Kim was more than willing to give you the hookup. In one of its more infamous cases of proliferation, North Korea helped Syria build a [clandestine nuclear facility](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2007/09/israel-hits-syr/). The U.S. and the Israelis got wind of the building's construction and in 2007, Israel snuck across the border and destroyed it, reportedly killing 10 [North Korean officials](http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/04/28/us-korea-north-syria-idUSL271480120080428) in the attack. But it wasn't just nuclear technology on offer under Kim. The Hermit Kingdom also put its missile know-how on offer. Iran reportedly benefited quite a bit from Kim's black market help, using the North Korean [No Dong](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2008/07/video-irans-mis/) missile as a basis for its Shahab-3 missile. Burma, too, was a happy customer, receiving [missile deliveries](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/world/asia/13missile.html?scp=1&sq=north%20korea%20burma%20missiles&st=cse) from Kim by cargo ship. Kim also sold a range of smaller weapons and gear for customers on a budget. His [anti-aircraft guns and rockets](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/03/libyas-got-vlads-missiles-and-kims-guns/) showed up in the hands of fellow crazy dictator Muammar Gadhafi during the revolution this year. And back in 2007, the United States even turned a blind eye to Kim's shipment of [tank parts](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/world/08ethiopia.html?pagewanted=all) to Ethiopia, which was helping the U.S. tackle Islamist militants in Somalia at the time.
06the-good-life
The Good Life ------------- While the rest of North Korea lived in a state of near starvation, Kim Jong-il led a hard-drinking, porn-obsessed life. He was a famous cinephile, once kidnapping his favorite [South Korean actress and director](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2821221.stm) and forcing them to make a crappy 1980s [monster flick](http://io9.com/344306/north-koreas-greatest-monster-movie). In addition to horror, Kim developed a passion for porn, filling out his [massive film library](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,449516,00.html) with dirty movies. But the Dear Leader wasn't into spreading the (self) love. After foreign [porn DVDs](http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/10/18/2010101800497.html) started flooding into North Korea on the black market, authorities instituted a crackdown on any discs that weren't made at home. Kim also loved the finer things in life, like good quality booze. At his peak, he blew through nearly $720,000 worth of [Hennessey cognac](http://articles.cnn.com/2003-01-08/us/wbr.kim.jong.il_1_north-korean-leader-house-arrest-hennessey?_s=PM:US) a year. His alcoholism grew so intractable that his doctor actually recommended he switch from [liquor to wine](http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=1878228) in order to live longer. Kim took the advice to heart, at one time guzzling down [10 glasses](http://observer.guardian.co.uk/7days/story/0,,1816145,00.html) of wine while meeting with South Korea's president. Kim's [lavish birthday parties](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/kim-jong-ils-super-sweet-69th-birthday-parties-kick-off/) might be a prologue for his funeral. Meanwhile, the U.S. is preparing to send 240,000 tons of "[high-protein biscuits and vitamins](http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-12-18/north-korea-food-aid-nuke-talks/52043610/1)" to the North's starving population.
