Kim Jong-il (also written as Kim Jong Il) (born 16 February 1941, Vyatskoye, Soviet Union; official biographies state 16 February 1942, Baekdu Mountain, Japanese Korea) was the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He was the Chairman of the National Defense Commission, Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, and General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (the ruling party since 1948). He succeeded his father Kim Il-sung, founder of North Korea, who died in 1994, and commanded the fifth largest standing army in the world. North Korea officially refers to him as the "Great Leader" or "Dear Leader".