Ex-N. Korean Ceremonial Leader Kim Yong-nam Passes Away at 97
(MENAFN) Kim Yong-nam, North Korea’s last ceremonial head of state, has died at the age of 97, state media reported Tuesday.
According to North Korean media, Kim passed away on November 3 due to multiple organ failure following an illness. He was not related to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Kim served as head of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, North Korea’s parliament, from 1998 to 2019, the nation’s highest ceremonial post. Prior to that, he held the role of foreign minister from 1983 to 1998. People who met him described him as mild-mannered but firm in his views, according to media.
Following his retirement in 2019, constitutional changes transferred the duties formerly associated with the head of state to the State Affairs Commission, chaired by Kim Jong-un.
Educated in the Soviet Union from 1946 to 1959, Kim studied history at Tomsk and Rostov State Universities and maintained close ties with Moscow throughout his life. He made numerous visits to the USSR and later Russia, attending events such as the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War in 2015 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, meeting President Vladimir Putin on both occasions. He also attended the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Sochi.
Kim played a careful yet influential role in inter-Korean relations. South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young expressed condolences, noting that Kim led Pyongyang’s delegation to the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, which helped open talks, and recalled “meaningful discussions on peace and South-North relations” during their meetings in 2005 and 2018.
Kim Yong-nam’s passing marks the end of an era in North Korea’s ceremonial leadership, highlighting the country’s gradual consolidation of power under Kim Jong-un.
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