Kim Yong-nam (; 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. 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. 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. Kim's official biography states that he was born in Pyongyang, Korea, Empire of Japan (now North Korea). According to North Korean state media, his family resisted Japanese occupation. His family came from the Jeonju Kim clan, making him a very distant relative of the Kim family. He came to North Korea with the Chinese People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War and chose to stay. 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.
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. 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. According to declassified Soviet documents from this period, Kim was "sociable and cheerful, but he is quick-tempered and can sometimes lack self-restraint".
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."Profiles of Presidium and Members of Political Bureau" , KCNA, September 29, 2010. 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. In 1988, he was responsible for the arrangement of unofficial diplomatic contacts with the United States through their respective embassies in Beijing.
President of the Presidium On 5 September 1998, 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. The President of the Presidium is sometimes considered the "number two official". 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. He was assessed as having high-level political and diplomatic skills. 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.
Diplomatic activity Kim visited Mongolia, Russia, Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Singapore in 2007. On March 18, 2008, he embarked on a goodwill tour of four African states."N Korean leader returns after visiting four African countries", Yonhap (AsiaPulse via COMTEX), April 2, 2008. Arriving in Namibia on March 20, he was present for the official completion of a new presidential residence that was built by North Korea."Namibia, NKorea hail friendship", Sapa (IOL), March 21, 2008. He also held talks with Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba and signed an agreement on public health cooperation with Pohamba. 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.
Kim also attended the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony on August 8, 2008, 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on February 7, 2014, 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on February 9, 2018, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony on June 14, 2018. On July 14, 2009, Kim met Vietnamese president Nguyen Minh Triet on the sidelines of the 15th Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Egypt. 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. He attended the May 19, 2016 presidential inauguration of Equatoguinean president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. As representative of North Korea, he attended the investiture ceremony of Andrés Manuel López Obrador as president of Mexico on December 1, 2018.
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). 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. In 2024, he attended a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s death.
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. KCNA also reported North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the bier of Kim Yong-nam at the Sojang Funeral Hall to express deep condolences over his death. He was buried at the Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery in Pyongyang, following a state funeral on November 5.
List of international trips As President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, Kim Yong Nam conducted numerous foreign visits to represent the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Date Country Location Purpose of Visit Notes3–7 June 1999Official goodwill visitAt the invitation of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the State Council.7–21 April 1999HavanaOfficial visitParticipated in the south summit and met with Cuban leader Fidel Castro.11–14 July 2001HanoiOfficial goodwill visitMet with Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong.15–17 July 2001VientianeOfficial goodwill visitMet with Laotian President Khamtay Siphandone.17–20 July 2001Phnom PenhOfficial goodwill visitMet with King Norodom Sihanouk.28 February–3 March 2002BangkokOfficial visit4–6 March 2002Kuala LumpurOfficial visit 10–12 July 2002 Jakarta Official visit Met with President Megawati Sukarnoputri to strengthen bilateral ties.13–16 July 2002TarabulusOfficial visit17–19 July 2002DamascusOfficial visit19–21 October 2004Official visit April 2005 Bandung Asian-African Summit Attended the 50th anniversary of the Bandung Conference. 20–23 July 2007 Ulaanbaatar Official visit Part of a multi-nation tour including Russia and several African nations.July 2007Moscow 24–26 July 2007 Algiers Official visit Discussed economic cooperation. July 2007 Cairo State visit Met with Egyptian officials to maintain long-standing diplomatic relations.27 July–1 August 2007Addis Ababa August 2007 Singapore Official visit Focused on economic development models. March 2008 Windhoek Official visit Attended the opening of the new Presidential Palace (built by North Korea). March 2008 Luanda Official visit Met with President José Eduardo dos Santos. March 2008 Kinshasa Official visit Met with President Joseph Kabila. March 2008 Kampala Official visit Met with President Yoweri Museveni. August 2008 Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics Attended the opening ceremony.May 2009JohannesburgOfficial visitMay 2009HarareOfficial visit July 2009 Sharm el-Sheikh 15th NAM Summit Represented North Korea at the Non-Aligned Movement summit.March 2010LibrevilleOfficial visitApril 2010DakarOfficial visitApril 2010DakarOfficial visitMay 2010ShanghaiShanghai World ExpoDecember 2011Dar-Es-SalaamOfficial visitMay 2012Singapore May 2012 Jakarta State visit Official visit to strengthen "traditional" friendship.August 2012HanoiAugust 2012Vientiane August 2012 Tehran 16th NAM Summit Signed a cooperation agreement on science and technology.August 2013BeijingTransitStopped by China while en route to Iran.August 2013TehranOfficial visitAttended the first inauguration of Hassan Rouhani February 2014 Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics Attended the opening ceremony and met with Vladimir Putin.October 2014KhartoumOctober 2014BrazzavilleOctober 2014Kampala May 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade Represented the DPRK at the 70th anniversary of WWII victory.August 2015CairoMay 2016Malabo September 2016 Isla Margarita 17th NAM Summit Met with President Nicolás Maduro. August 2017 Tehran Presidential Inauguration Attended the second inauguration of Hassan Rouhani. February 2018 Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics Led the high-level delegation; first nominal head of state to visit the South. June 2018 Moscow 2018 FIFA World Cup Attended the opening ceremony of the World Cup. November 2018 Havana State visit Met with President Miguel Díaz-Canel. November 2018 Caracas State visit Strengthened ties with the Maduro administration. December 2018 Mexico City Presidential Inauguration Attended the inauguration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Works
See also Politics of North Korea
References
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