| Feb. 1941 | Born at Milyoung, Baekdu Mountain His father Kim Il-sung and mother Kim Jong-suk |
| 1945 | Back to settle in North Korea from the Soviet Union |
| 1950-52 | Went to China to study at the Jirin Academy |
| Jul. 1961 | Entered the Worker’s Party of Korea |
| 1966 | Central Committee Member |
| Jun. 1973 | Senior Manager of the Party’s Promotion Department |
| Sep. 1973 | Secretary in charge of the Party’s promotion |
| Feb. 1974 | Announced as the successor |
| Oct. 1980 | Given senior posts in the Politburo, the Military Commission, and the Party Secretariat at the Sixth Party Congress |
| 1983 | First official visit to China as the Successor by the invitation of Hu Yaobang |
| May. 1990 | Vice-Chairman of the National Defence Commission |
| Dec. 1991 | Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army |
| Apr. 1992 | Attained the title “Dear Father” |
| Apr. 1993 | Chairman of the National Defence Commission |
| Oct. 1997 | General Secretary of the Worker’s Party |
| Sep. 1998 | Reappointed as Chairman of the National Defence Commission |
| Oct. 1998 | A meeting with Chung Ju-young, Founder of Hyundai |
| May. 2000 | First state visit to China as the Supreme Leader of North Korea |
| Jun. 2000 | Summit meeting with President Kim Dae-jung |
| Oct. 2007 | Summit meeting with President Roh Moo-hyun |
| Aug. 2008 | Paralysed from stroke |
| Apr. 2009 | Reappointed as Chairman of the National Defence Commission |
| Sep. 2010 | Given senior posts in the Politburo, the Military Commission, and the Party Secretariat at the Third Worker’s Party General Assembly |
| Oct. 2010 | Kim Jong-un officially designated as the successor |
| Aug. 2011 | Visit to Russia and China |
| 17 December 2011 | Died at 8:30am on 17 |
