Kim Yong Nam, the former president of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly Presidium and the country’s ceremonial head of state for over two decades, has died at the age of 97, state media announced on Tuesday.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim passed away from multiple organ failure.
Kim served as the titular head of state from 1998 to 2019, though actual authority rested with then-leader Kim Jong Il until his death in 2011, and subsequently with Kim Jong Un.
KCNA reported that Kim Jong Un personally visited Kim Yong Nam’s bier to pay his respects and express condolences, releasing photos showing the North Korean leader and senior officials standing before the late statesman’s glass coffin.
In 2018, Kim Yong Nam headed a North Korean delegation to the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, marking one of his rare appearances abroad.
During that visit, he notably ceded the seat of honour to Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un’s influential sister, during a meeting with South Korean officials.
The move was seen by many analysts as a reflection of Kim Yong Nam’s long-standing political survival strategy — maintaining loyalty and deference to the ruling Kim family throughout his decades in North Korea’s tightly controlled political system.
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