Like Father, Like Son: Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il’s father and the man whom North Koreans call their “Great Leader,” took great pride in his eldest son’s education. It was his desire to improve his son’s Russian that brought Professor Kim Hyun-Sik into Kim Jong Il’s life. In this photo from October 1980, Kim Jong Il and his father are attending a party to celebrate the 6th Korean Worker’s Party Convention, where Kim was reelected as head of the country’s National Defense Commission.