Kim Jong-un
Kim Jong-un (officially transcribed Kim Jong Un; ; ; born 8 January 1984) is a North Korean politician serving as Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and Leader of the Workers' Party of Korea since 2012. Kim is the second child of Kim Jong-il (1941–2011) and Ko Yong-hui (1952–2004). The grandson of Kim Il-sung, the first leader of North Korea from 1948 to 1994, he is the first North Korean leader to have been born after the country's founding.
Workers' Party of Korea
Kim Il-sung was not the most ardent supporter of a military reunification of Korea; that role was played by the South Korean communists, headed by Pak Hon-yong. After several meetings with Joseph Stalin (the leader of the Soviet Union), the North Koreans invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950—this began the Korean War. With American intervention in the war the DPRK nearly collapsed, but it was saved by Chinese intervention in the conflict. The war had the effect of weakening Soviet influence over Kim Il-sung and the WPK. Around this time, the main fault lines in early WPK politics were created. Four factions formed: domestic (a group of WPK cadres who had remained in Korea during Japanese rule), Soviet Koreans (Koreans sent from the Soviet Union), Yanan (Koreans from China) and guerrillas (Kim Il-sung's personal faction). However, Kim would be unable to further strengthen his position until the end of the war.