The Rise and Fall of Kim Il-Sung

Kim Il-sung is the only communist leader in history to have been imprisoned by both Chinese and Soviet communists. He was keenly aware of how expendable revolutions in small countries such as Korea could become when weighed against the national interests of larger powers, despite communist principles of internationalism. Kim's memoirs point to the dramatic moment he burned all the files of the suspects compiled by the purge committee as key in solidifying his leadership.