He died more than four years ago, but North Korea's longtime leader Kim Il Sung has hardly faded away. His embalmed body lies in a glass-covered coffin at the glittering Keumsusan Memorial Palace, his skin tweaked and powdered by Russian embalming experts. His portrait hangs in every North Korean home and office building, along with that of his son, Kim Jong Il. North Korean propaganda still portrays him as a god, and the country bristles with monuments and museums extolling his superhuman virtues. The late Kim has even signed some official documents lately--the country hasn't had a head of state since his death, so bureaucrats use his seal when new ambassadors present their credentials.

The Great Leader should finally go into retirement by Sept. 9, when Kim Jong Il, the Dear Leader, is expected to assume the presidency. Since his father's death, Kim has used his authority as commander-in-chief of the army to run the country. He's also top dog in the ruling Workers' Party. But with the presidency under his belt, Kim will have the three titles once held by his late father, sealing his succession in the world's first communist monarchy. Kim's appointment will coincide with celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of North Korea's founding, another chance to signal that he now has the mandate of heaven. "During the past four years, he has used his father's charisma, his shadow," says Choi Jin Wook, a North Korea analyst at Seoul's Korea Institute for National Unification. "Kim Il Sung's ghost ruled the country. Now Kim Jong Il is trying to rule the country in his own name."

The rest of the world has a stake in the outcome. North Korea's economy has collapsed, and famine has killed as many as 2 million people since 1995, according to recent estimates. With the presidency giving him a more public role, Kim could now be ready to push ahead with modest economic reforms. But the Dear Leader, who also likes to be called "general" in keeping with his post as head of the military, still has 1.1 million men under arms and ballistic missiles that can reach Tokyo. As conditions in the North worsen, the fear is Kim could be tempted to lash out to divert attention from troubles at home. Just last month came alarming reports that Pyongyang is digging a maze of underground tunnels that could be an attempt to revive its secret nuclear-bomb project. Analysts speculate Kim might try to use the excavations as a bargaining chip to extract more aid from the U.S. As North Korean and U.S. officials met for talks in New York last week, the mini-crisis underscored the need to better understand North Korea's quirky leader.

Back in 1994, Kim was widely seen as a pale copy of his father, lacking his charisma and revolutionary credentials. That the younger Kim didn't immediately take over the presidency prompted speculation in the West about his ability to hold on to power at all. Tales of Kim's taste for fast horses, fine cognac and dancing girls abounded, adding to the image of a dissolute leader whose days were numbered. Four years later, that talk has faded.

In fact, the portrait of Kim as a politically inept playboy with a goofy pompadour was always off the mark, according to one of the men who knows him best. Kim junior may not like pressing the flesh, but he has always been a skilled behind-the-scenes political operator, says Hwang Jang Yop, the most senior North Korean official to have defected to the South. In a rare interview, Hwang last week talked to TIME extensively about Kim, portraying him as a ruthless leader who learned early on how to manipulate people, starting with Kim senior.

Short, pudgy and uncomfortable in a crowd, Kim Jong Il compensated by flattering and cajoling the right people. Hwang remembers a 1959 trip to Moscow, when he was personal secretary to Kim Il Sung. The son, then 17, came out of a hotel room with his father, hanging on his arm in a highly unusual public display of affection, then rushed to help his father put on his shoes. The performance looked overdone to Hwang: "He had a way with people and was very skilled at winning people over, including his father."

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