Kim Yong-nam

Not to be confused with Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of Kim Jong Il. For other people with the same name, see Kim Yeong-nam.
In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.

Kim Yong-nam
Kim in 2014
President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly
In office
September 5, 1998 – April 11, 2019
Leader
Preceded byYang Hyong-sop
Succeeded byChoe Ryong-hae
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
December 1, 1983 – September 5, 1998
PremierHong Song-nam
Kang Song-san
Yon Hyong-muk
Ri Kun-mo
Kang Song-san
Ri Jong-ok
Preceded byHo Dam
Succeeded byPaek Nam-sun
Personal details
Born(1928-02-04)February 4, 1928
Pyongyang, Korea, Empire of Japan
DiedNovember 3, 2025(2025-11-03) (aged 97)
Pyongyang, North Korea
PartyWorkers' Party of Korea
Alma materTomsk State University
Rostov State University[1][2]
Signature
Korean name
Hangul
김영남
Hanja
金永南
RRGim Yeongnam
MRKim Yŏngnam

Kim Yong-nam (Korean: 김영남; February 4, 1928 – November 3, 2025) was a North Korean politician who served as the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, from 1998 until 2019.[3] Due to holding the office, he was considered the head of state of North Korea; the country's constitution was amended once he left office in 2019 to transfer this position to the President of the State Affairs Commission, Kim Jong Un. Previously, he had served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1983 to 1998.[4] He was elected a member of the Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in 2010.

Life and career

Accounts of Kim's early life vary. According to Fyodor Tertitskiy of NK News, he was born Kim Myong-sam to a Korean-Chinese family in the village of Dapu Shihe in Manchuria, in what is now the Liaoning province of China, on February 4, 1928.[5][6] Kim's official biography states that he was born in Pyongyang, Korea, Empire of Japan (now North Korea).[6] According to North Korean state media, his family resisted Japanese occupation.[7] His family came from the Jeonju Kim clan, making him a very distant relative of the Kim family.[8] He came to North Korea with the Chinese People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War and chose to stay.[6] Shortly before the end of the war in 1953, he went to the USSR to study. His experience with the Soviet Union (including many years of study at Russian universities) and China propelled his career in foreign affairs.[6]

In 1956, he became a section chief at the Foreign Department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and was a vice minister for foreign affairs by 1962.[6] In 1972, he became the chairman of the WPK Central Committee’s Foreign Department and a deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly. In June 1974, he became an alternate member of the WPK Politburo, becoming a full member by 1978, and a party secretary by 1980.[8] According to declassified Soviet documents from this period, Kim was "sociable and cheerful, but he is quick-tempered and can sometimes lack self-restraint".[8]

After graduating from university, he worked as a teacher at the Central Party School, vice-department director of the WPK Central Committee, vice-minister of foreign affairs, and first vice-department director, department director and secretary of the WPK Central Committee, vice premier of the administration council and concurrently Minister of Foreign Affairs.[9] His elevation to Minister of Foreign Affairs is believed to have occurred as part of a reorganization of the diplomatic bureaucracy after the Rangoon bombing in October 1983.[10] In 1988, he was responsible for the arrangement of unofficial diplomatic contacts with the United States through their respective embassies in Beijing.[11]

President of the Presidium

On 5 September 1985, Kim was appointed as the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly. As president of the Presidium, Kim Yong-nam was sometimes called the "nominal head of state" of North Korea.[10] The President of the Presidium is sometimes considered the "number two official".[12] The journalist and academic Don Oberdorfer described Kim as enigmatic, rigid in his official role, personally pleasant, highly intelligent, and an important figure behind the scenes in Pyongyang.[10] He was assessed as having high-level political and diplomatic skills.[6] According to South Korean politician Pak Jie-won, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il referred to Kim Yong-nam as the "Respected Chairman of the Presidium" (상임위원장님), a level of deference almost never extended to other subordinates.[8]

Diplomatic activity

Kim visited Mongolia, Russia,[13] Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Singapore in 2007.[14] On March 18, 2008, he embarked on a goodwill tour of four African states.[15] Arriving in Namibia on March 20, he was present for the official completion of a new presidential residence that was built by North Korea.[16] He also held talks with Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba and signed an agreement on public health cooperation with Pohamba.[15][16] He subsequently visited Angola, where he met President José Eduardo dos Santos on March 24, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he met President Joseph Kabila on March 26, and Uganda, where he met President Yoweri Museveni on March 29. He returned to North Korea on April 1.[15]

Kim also attended the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony on August 8, 2008,[17] 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on February 7, 2014,[18] 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on February 9, 2018,[19] and the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony on June 14, 2018.[20] On July 14, 2009, Kim met Vietnamese president Nguyen Minh Triet on the sidelines of the 15th Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Egypt.[21] Kim represented North Korea at the 2015 Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9, 2015, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.[22] He attended the May 19, 2016 presidential inauguration of Equatoguinean president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.[23] As representative of North Korea, he attended the investiture ceremony of Andrés Manuel López Obrador as president of Mexico on December 1, 2018.[24]

Retirement and death

Kim retired on April 11, 2019, in a government reshuffle, aged 91, after almost 21 years as President of the SPA Presidium and almost 41 years as Party Politburo member (having first been elected to the body in August 1978).[6] During the 2022 celebration of the Day of the Foundation of the Republic, he participated in the central concert and banquet which took place in the yard of the Mansudae Assembly Hall.[25] In 2024, he attended a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s death.[8]

According to Korean Central News Agency, Kim had been receiving treatment for colon cancer in his hospital bed since June 2024. He died from multiple organ failures on November 3, 2025, at the age of 97.[26] KCNA also reported North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the bier of Kim Yong-nam to express deep condolences over his death.[27] He was buried at the Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery in Pyongyang, following a state funeral on November 5.[28]

Works

  • Kim Yong-nam (1985). "Interview with Yong-Nam Kim, Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister of the Democratic Peoples's Republic of Korea". Journal of Northeast Asian Studies. 4 (3): 66–75. doi:10.1007/BF03025039. S2CID 198509640.
  • — (September 1988). "The International Prestige and Influence of the DPRK Are Increasing Daily" (PDF). Kulloja. OCLC 9516938. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 5, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.

See also

References

  1. ^ "КИМ ЁН НАМ.ЭНЦИКЛОПЕДИЯ.Всемирная история". Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  2. ^ "Ким Ён Нам – 5-й Министр иностранных дел КНДР – Революция в Северной Корее". ir.spb.ru. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  3. ^ "Blessings, condolences". The Pyongyang Times. January 6, 2007. p. 1.
  4. ^ Dae-woong, Jin (October 4, 2007). "Who's who in North Korea's power elite". The Korea Herald. Retrieved October 5, 2007.
  5. ^ East, Roger; Thomas, Richard J. (2014). Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders. Routledge. p. 278. ISBN 978-1317639404. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Tertitskiy, Fyodor (April 12, 2019). "The great survivor: after 21 years at the top, Kim Yong Nam steps down". NK News. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  7. ^ Sharma, Shweta (November 4, 2025). "North Korea's so-called 'head of state' who served all three Kims dies aged 97". The Independent. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e Tertitskiy, Fyodor (November 5, 2025). "Kim Yong Nam was a rare survivor in the cutthroat world of North Korean politics". NK News. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  9. ^ "Profiles of Presidium and Members of Political Bureau" Archived September 26, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, KCNA, September 29, 2010.
  10. ^ a b c Oberdorfer, Don; Carlin, Robert (2014). The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History. Basic Books. pp. 184–185, 465. ISBN 978-0465031238.
  11. ^ Cha, Victor D. (2013). The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future. Internet Archive. New York: Ecco. p. 280. ISBN 978-0061998508. LCCN 2012009517. OCLC 1244862785.
  12. ^ "Jimmy Carter lands in North Korea to bring home jailed Boston man". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on August 28, 2010. He later sat down for talks with the No. 2 official, Kim Yong Nam, APTN said.
  13. ^ Chang, Jae-Soon (October 31, 2007). "NKorea Building Its Global Contacts". The Oklahoman. Retrieved November 9, 2025. In July, the country's No. 2 leader, Kim Yong Nam, visited Mongolia, Russia, Algeria, Egypt, Singapore and Ethiopia.
  14. ^ "N.Korean Delegation in Hanoi to Study Reform". The Chosun Daily. October 29, 2007. Retrieved November 9, 2025. Despite his advanced age of 80, Kim Yong-nam, the president of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, visited Algeria, Ethiopia, Egypt and Singapore in July and August.
  15. ^ a b c "N Korean leader returns after visiting four African countries", Yonhap (AsiaPulse via COMTEX), April 2, 2008.
  16. ^ a b "Namibia, NKorea hail friendship", Sapa (IOL), March 21, 2008.
  17. ^ "Factbox: World leaders to attend Olympics opening in Beijing". Reuters. August 6, 2008.
  18. ^ Bodner, Matthew (February 5, 2014). "Putin's Guest List: Which World Leaders Are Going to Sochi?". The Moscow Times. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  19. ^ Talmadge, Eric (February 9, 2018). "At Olympic Games, Kim Jong Un's sister takes VIP seat". AP News. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  20. ^ "N. Korea's nominal head leaves Russia after trip to attend World Cup opening ceremony". Yonhap News Agency. June 16, 2018.
  21. ^ "Politics". Thanh Nien Daily. October 6, 2022. Archived from the original on August 3, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
  22. ^ Kaise, Akihiko (May 11, 2015). "Pyongyang plays up closer ties with Russia despite absence of Kim Jong Un in Moscow". The Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015.
  23. ^ "N. Korea's Kim Yong-nam holds talks with Equatorial Guinea president". The Korea Times. May 23, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  24. ^ Habib, Yamily (November 6, 2025). "The phenomenon of AMLO marks the beginning of a new era in Mexico". Al Día News. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  25. ^ Zwirko, Colin (September 9, 2022). "Mysterious new aide to Kim Jong Un reappears at massive concert, banquet". NK News. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  26. ^ Park, Boram (November 4, 2025). "N. Korea says ex-titular head of parliament, Kim Yong-nam, dies at 97". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  27. ^ "North Korea's longtime ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam has died, Pyongyang says". CNN. Associated Press. November 4, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  28. ^ "North Korea holds state funeral for longtime ceremonial head of state". Associated Press. November 6, 2025. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
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