Go to: 1953 Stalinism in the north North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, a former guerrilla leader and Soviet soldier, eliminated his Korean rivals after the Korean War and created an austere, militarized and highly regimented society where he was worshipped as a deity. While claiming to be self-reliant, North Korea relied heavily on the Soviets and Chinese for economic and military support. North Korea, in turn, spent about 25 percent of its GNP creating one of the world's largest armies. Unwilling to accept the partition of the Korean Peninsula, it also attempted to undermine the South Korean government and kill its leaders.