Senior official known for his loyalty to the Kim family served as head of Supreme People’s Assembly for two decades.By News AgenciesPublished On 4 Nov 20254 Nov 2025Click here to share on social mediashare2ShareKim Yong Nam, the former nominal head of state of North Korea and a lifelong loyalist of the country’s ruling family, has died, according to state media.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Tuesday that the 97-year-old politician, who led the country’s parliament for more than two decades and served as a senior diplomat, died on Monday of multiple organ failure related to cancer.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“Comrade Kim Yong-nam, an old-generation revolutionary who left extraordinary achievements in the development history of our party and country, wrapped up his noble life at age of 97,” the KCNA said.KCNA said that leader Kim Jong Un visited the bier of Kim Yong Nam early on Tuesday to express deep condolences over his death. It said that Kim Yong Nam’s funeral had been scheduled for Thursday.Kim Yong Nam, who was known for propaganda-filled speeches with a deep, booming voice at key state events, often appeared in state media visuals greeting visiting foreign dignitaries on behalf of Kim Jong Un and his late father, Kim Jong Il.His loyalty to the ruling Kim dynasty allowed him to serve as the country’s ceremonial head of state for two decades.Kim Yong Nam is not related to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un – grandson of the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung – who took power upon his father Kim Jong Il’s death in 2011.Kim Yong Nam served as head of the Supreme People’s Assembly from 1998 to April 2019. The holder of that post is North Korea’s nominal head of state, though the true power has been held by the Kim family, which has ruled the country since its formal foundation in 1948.In 1994, when Kim Il Sung died, Kim Yong Nam had read an elegy to the state’s founder. He also undertook the job of formally nominating Kim Jong Il to be chairman of the National Defence Commission after the son of Kim Il Sung observed a three-year mourning period. Advertisement In February 2018, he travelled to South Korea with Kim Jong Un’s influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, to attend the opening ceremony of …
