North Korea is one of the most secluded and isolated nations in the world. In the 1980s it gradually became more and more secluded. North Korea's growing isolation had to do with tension between North Korea, the United States, and South Korea; two of North Korea's greatest enemies. Kim Jong Il became North Korea's powerful leader in 1994, succeeding his father, Kim Il Sung, who had trained Kim Jong-Il to rule North Korea for 20 years. For nearly two decades, Kim Jong Il controlled every single aspect of North Korea. Through his strict policies, terrorist actions, and his dealings with other nations, Kim Jong Il became known as one of the toughest and most influential leaders in history. Kim Jong Il spent his childhood in the midst of the eight-year Second Sino-Japanese War. from 1937 to 1945. The war was mainly between China and Japan, but China fought with economic help from the Soviet Union, Germany, and the United States. Kim Jong Il had deep military knowledge from an early age, and around the age of ten, he learned about the military by standing at the table that drew up operational plans in the headquarters. While attending Namsan Higher Middle School in Pyongyang, Kim Jong Il was an active member of the Children's Union. The Children's Union is a youth organization that promotes Kim Il Sung's political thesis called Juche. Kim Il Sung's political thesis, Juche, which in English means "self-reliance", is the state ideology of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The North Korean government under the strict leadership of Kim Jong Il has a history of enforcing strict policies and being corrupt. Since North Korea is a more isolated nation, it would be easier to take control of sensitive minds… middle of paper… North Korean and South Korean leaders were detained in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang. It later turned out that the South Korean government paid North Korea $200 million to participate in this meeting. Seven years later, in 2007, Kim Jong Il signed an 8-point peace agreement with South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun. The leaders also spoke of formally ending the Korean War, a decision supported by the United States. In 1994, Kim Jong Il signed an agreement with the United States under which North Korea would dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for an outside party building two nuclear reactors capable of producing electricity. The agreement, in 2002, began to crumble due to Kim Jong Il's failure to comply with the terms; Kim announced that year that North Korea had produced weapons of mass destruction. Kim Jong Il was infamous for being one