North Korea’s former ‘head of state’ Kim Yong Nam dead at 97

Senior authoritative known for his loyalty to the Kim household served arsenic caput of Supreme People’s Assembly for 2 decades.

Kim Yong Nam, the erstwhile nominal caput of authorities of North Korea and a lifelong loyalist of the country’s ruling family, has died, according to authorities media.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported connected Tuesday that the 97-year-old politician, who led the country’s parliament for much than 2 decades and served arsenic a elder diplomat, died connected Monday of aggregate organ nonaccomplishment related to cancer.

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“Comrade Kim Yong-nam, an old-generation revolutionary who near bonzer achievements successful the improvement past of our enactment and country, wrapped up his noble beingness astatine property of 97,” the KCNA said.

KCNA said that person Kim Jong Un visited the bier of Kim Yong Nam aboriginal connected Tuesday to explicit heavy condolences implicit his death. It said that Kim Yong Nam’s ceremonial had been scheduled for Thursday.

Kim Yong Nam, who was known for propaganda-filled speeches with a deep, booming dependable astatine cardinal authorities events, often appeared successful authorities media visuals greeting visiting overseas dignitaries connected behalf of Kim Jong Un and his precocious father, Kim Jong Il.

His loyalty to the ruling Kim dynasty allowed him to service arsenic the country’s ceremonial caput of authorities for 2 decades.

Kim Yong Nam is not related to North Korean person Kim Jong Un – grandson of the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung – who took powerfulness upon his begetter Kim Jong Il’s decease successful 2011.

Kim Yong Nam served arsenic caput of the Supreme People’s Assembly from 1998 to April 2019. The holder of that station is North Korea’s nominal caput of state, though the existent powerfulness has been held by the Kim family, which has ruled the state since its ceremonial instauration successful 1948.

In 1994, erstwhile Kim Il Sung died, Kim Yong Nam had work an elegy to the state’s founder. He besides undertook the occupation of formally nominating Kim Jong Il to beryllium president of the National Defence Commission aft the lad of Kim Il Sung observed a three-year mourning period.

In February 2018, helium travelled to South Korea with Kim Jong Un’s influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, to be the opening ceremonial of the Pyeongchang Olympic Games, arsenic Pyongyang sought amended ties with Seoul and Washington aft years of heightened animosities connected the Korean Peninsula.

The travel made Kim Yong Nam the highest-level North Korean authoritative to sojourn South Korea since Kim Jong Un sent a apical subject serviceman to be the closing ceremonial of the 2014 Asian Games successful Incheon, South Korea.

At the Pyeongchang opening ceremony, Kim Yong Nam and Kim Yo Jong sat wrong feet of then-United States Vice President Mike Pence, though the 2 sides made nary evident contact.

North Korea’s impermanent diplomatic openness peaked with the summits betwixt Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump successful 2018 and 2019, but Kim Yong Nam did not be them, and his power is believed to person waned successful caller years owed to his age.

In April 2019, helium was replaced arsenic caput of the parliament by Choe Ryong Hae, 1 of Kim Jong Un’s adjacent confidants who had antecedently served arsenic the apical governmental serviceman of North Korea’s 1.2 million-member military.

A autochthonal of Pyongyang, Kim Yong Nam studied astatine Kim Il Sung University and Moscow State University.