Kim Yong Nam, North Korea's former ceremonial head of state and a lifelong supporter of the ruling dynasty, has died aged 97, according to state media.
He held the role of president of Pyongyang's rubber-stamp Supreme People's Assembly from 1998 to 2019.
Kim Yong Nam served in various diplomatic roles under the regime of the country's founder Kim Il Sung, his son Kim Jong Il, and his grandson Kim Jong Un, although he was not related to the family.
He died of multiple organ failure on 3 November, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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.
Born during Japanese colonial rule, he was described as a family of anti-Japanese patriots. He attended the then brand new Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang and studied in Moscow before beginning his career in the 1950s.
Starting out as a low-ranking official, he rose to become foreign minister and later chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly for nearly all of Kim Jong Il's reign. Despite the power residing primarily with the ruling Kim family, Kim Yong Nam was seen as the face of North Korea internationally.
In 2018, he led a North Korean delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea, where he met South's then-president Moon Jae-in, alongside Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's influential sister.
Kim Yong Nam previously met with two other former South Korean presidents: Kim Dae-jung in 2000 and Roh Moo-hyun in 2007 at inter-Korean summits. South Korea's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young conveyed condolences, recalling meaningful discussions he had about peace on the peninsula with Kim Yong Nam.
Former North Korean diplomat Thae Yong Ho remarked that Kim Yong Nam avoided political pitfalls by maintaining a compliant reputation and never showcasing strong personal opinions, ensuring his survival in an often volatile political landscape.
Notably, other officials in North Korea faced severe consequences for disloyalty; for example, Kim Jong Un executed his uncle, Chang Song Thaek, in 2013 for treachery. Unlike many, Kim Yong Nam retained his position throughout the regime's transition across three Kim generations, retiring in April 2019.
