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

Kim Yong Nam, the former leader of North Korea and a lifelong supporter of the ruling family, has passed away, according to state media.

The 97-year-old politician, who served as a senior diplomat and served as a member of the nation’s parliament for more than 20 years, passed away on Monday from multiple organ failures linked to cancer, according to a report released on Tuesday from The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

At the age of 97, the KCNA reported that “Comrade Kim Yong-nam, an old-generation revolutionary who left extraordinary accomplishments in our party’s and nation’s history, completed his noble life.”

Kim Jong Un, the leader of KCNA, visited Kim Yong Nam’s body on Tuesday to offer his condolences. Kim Yong Nam’s funeral was supposed to be held on Thursday, according to the statement.

Kim Yong Nam, who was well-known for his pro-democracy speeches and booming voice at important state events, frequently appeared in state media greetings for Kim Jong Un and his late father, Kim Jong Il, greeting visiting foreign dignitaries.

He was able to serve as the Kim dynasty’s ceremonial head of state for 20 years because of his devotion to the ruling Kim dynasty.

Kim Yong Nam, the grandson of Kim Il Sung, the country’s founder, is not related to Kim Jong Un, the country’s leader, who became a dictator after his father Kim Jong Il’s death in 2011 took office.

From 1998 to April 2019, Kim Yong Nam presided over the Supreme People’s Assembly. The Kim family, which has ruled the nation since its formal foundation in 1948, holds that position, even though North Korea’s nominal head of state is in charge of it.

Kim Yong Nam had read the state’s founder’s elegy in 1994, when Kim Il Sung passed away. After Kim Il Sung’s son observed a three-year mourning period, he also took the initiative to officially nominate Kim Jong Il as the chairman of the National Defense Commission.

After years of growing resentment on the Korean Peninsula, Kim Jong Un’s influential sister Kim Yo Jong traveled to South Korea with Kim Jong Un to watch the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Olympic Games.

Kim Yong Nam became the highest-level North Korean official to travel to South Korea since Kim Jong Un sent a top military officer to the Incheon, South Korea, ceremony marking the conclusion of the 2014 Asian Games.

Kim Yong Nam and Kim Yo Jong sat close to then-U.S. Vice President Mike Pence at the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang, but there was no apparent contact between the two.

Kim Yong Nam’s influence may have decreased in recent years as a result of his absence from the summits Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, but his influence may have increased as a result.

Choe Ryong Hae, one of Kim Jong Un’s close ally who had previously served as the top political figure in North Korea’s 1.2 million-member military, succeeded him as head of the parliament in April 2019.