Images of Kim Jong Il: 1942-2011

20 of 35: Kim Jong Il, third from left, supreme commander of the North Korean military, inspects a front line observation post of the North Korean Peoples' Army 287 Unit in an undisclosed point in North Korea Sept. 15, 1997. Kim, 55, was formally named head of the ruling party Wednesday, Oct. 8, 1997, taking one of the formal titles left vacant when his father died in 1994. (AP Photo/Korea News Service) (AP Photo/ XCJ OTA)

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