Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il is the de facto leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea); the official leader of the country is still his long-deceased father Kim Il-sung, the founder of the state. He is the Chairman of the National Defense Commission, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, the ruling party since 1948, and the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, the fourth largest standing army in the world. In April 2009, North Korea's constitution was amended and now implicitly refers to him as the "Supreme Leader".