Beijing (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – China expressed “deep condolences” on Tuesday following the death of North Korean veteran diplomat and former ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong Nam.
During a regular press conference, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated that Kim Yong Nam was an old friend of China who
“made significant contributions to the development of traditional friendly and cooperative relations between China and North Korea.”
Who was Kim Yong Nam, and what was his legacy?
According to North Korea’s state media KCNA, North Korea’s former ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong Nam, died on Tuesday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the bier of Kim Yong Nam to offer condolences. North Korea will hold a state funeral, KCNA said.
The agency described him as an
“old-generation revolutionary who left extraordinary achievements in the development history of our party and country”.
A state funeral has been held for him.
He was born during the Japanese colonial period on the Korean peninsula, into what KCNA described as a family of “anti-Japanese patriots.” He attended Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang and also studied in Moscow before starting his career in the 1950s.
What role did Kim Yong Nam play in North Korean politics?
Kim Yong Nam, a veteran diplomat and former chairman of the Presidium of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly, who functioned under all three of the country’s leaders, died at 97.
He was the only person outside of the ruling Kim family dynasty to serve as North Korea’s nominal head of state. Kim Yong Nam’s role as the ceremonial head of state from 1998 to 2019 positioned him as the key figure during important diplomatic events.
Kim Yong Nam held important roles in the foreign ministry and contributed to North Korea’s diplomacy during Kim Il Sung’s era, before mainly overseeing summit diplomacy and acting as the representative of the isolated North under Kim Jong Il.
Under Kim Jong Un’s leadership, Kim Yong Nam remained North Korea’s diplomatic representative, greeting high-level visitors to Pyongyang and participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea as head of the North Korean delegation, during which he met with then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
