Kim Pyong-il was named after another son with the same name, who born in Vyatskoye in 1944; that son, also known as Shura Kim, drowned in Pyongyang in 1947. The other Pyong-il was born to Kim Il-sung and Kim Song-ae, Kim Il-sung's former secretary.
Kim Jong-il is said to have despised both Pyong-il and Song-ae. Kim Jong-il was protective of the position of the leader of North Korea, so he ordered party members to stay away from Pyong-il. Many people believed Pyong-il to be ambitious, intelligent, and all-out a better leader than Jong-il. Kim Il-sung feared for Pyong-il's life before he died, and Song-ae was known to favor Pyong-il.
It is not known whether Pyong-il and Jong-il were true rivals for the position or if Pyong-il was ever considered for the position by his father. Starting in 1988, Pyong-il was posted as an ambassador to several countries in Europe so that he could not touch politics in his home country. First he went to Bulgaria, and later he went to Hungary. He was recalled to Pyongyang after Hungary opened diplomatic relations with South Korea in February1989. Then he went back to Europe, as the ambassador to Finland, and most recently, Poland. Today he is the ambassador of North Korea to Poland.
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