Post by : Rameen Ariff

Kim Yong Nam, one of North Korea’s most enduring diplomats and its former ceremonial head of state, has died aged 97, state media announced on Tuesday.

Authorities said Kim Yong Nam passed away on Monday from multiple organ failure. The next day, leader Kim Jong Un visited his bier to offer “deep condolences” and honor a longtime figure of the regime. His funeral is planned for Thursday in Pyongyang.

From 1998 until April 2019, Kim held the title President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly — the post regarded as North Korea’s formal head of state. In practice, however, substantial authority has remained concentrated within the Kim family, which has governed since 1948.

A steadfast loyalist to the ruling dynasty, Kim Yong Nam served under Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un, embodying a rare continuity in the country’s leadership. He was noted for his deep, formal addresses and frequently acted as Pyongyang’s representative at high-level diplomatic events.

In February 2018, Kim led a North Korean delegation to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea, traveling alongside Kim Yo Jong. The appearance was a notable episode of inter-Korean engagement and made him the most senior North Korean official to visit the South in years.

Kim also held the foreign ministry portfolio for 15 years beginning in 1983. As a seasoned diplomat, he helped sustain relationships with countries in Africa, the Middle East and partners within the Non-Aligned Movement during periods when North Korea faced growing international isolation.

A Pyongyang native, Kim studied at Kim Il Sung University and later at Moscow State University, becoming proficient in Russian and versed in international affairs. He survived several political upheavals over decades, remaining a trusted operative within the regime.

Analysts have called him a “model bureaucrat” whose loyalty helped secure his place through shifting power dynamics. He read the official elegy at Kim Il Sung’s funeral in 1994 and played a role in formalizing Kim Jong Il’s rise to the post of National Defense Commission.

Kim Yong Nam’s death closes a chapter in North Korea’s modern political history, marking the loss of one of its most consistent and disciplined senior figures.

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