North Korea's KCNA reported on Nov 4, 2025, that Kim Yong Nam, former president of the Supreme People's Assembly (1998–2019), died on Monday at age 97 from multiple organ failure.
Leader Kim Jong Un visited the bier on Tuesday; a funeral is scheduled for Thursday.
Kim Yong Nam attended the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics opening in South Korea—the highest-level North Korean visit since 2014—and greeted foreign dignitaries on behalf of the Kim family.
North Korea's state media announced on Tuesday that Kim Yong Nam, the country's longtime ceremonial head of state, has died at the age of 97 due to multiple organ failure.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim Yong Nam passed away on Monday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the bier of Kim Yong Nam on Tuesday to express deep condolences. A funeral is scheduled for Thursday.
Kim Yong Nam served as president of the Supreme People's Assembly from 1998 to April 2019. That position is North Korea's nominal head of state, though actual power has been held by the Kim family since the country's founding in 1948.
Kim Yong Nam was known for delivering propaganda-filled speeches with a deep, booming voice at key state events. He frequently appeared in state media greeting foreign dignitaries on behalf of Kim Jong Un and his late father, Kim Jong Il.
In 1994, following the death of Kim Il Sung, Kim Yong Nam read an elegy for the state's founder. He also formally nominated Kim Jong Il as chairman of the National Defence Commission after a three-year mourning period.
In February 2018, Kim Yong Nam traveled to South Korea with Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, to attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. This was part of North Korea's diplomatic outreach amid improved ties with Seoul and Washington. The visit marked the highest-level North Korean official presence in South Korea since a military officer attended the 2014 Asian Games closing ceremony in Incheon.
At the Pyeongchang event, Kim Yong Nam and Kim Yo Jong sat near U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, though no interaction occurred. This period of openness led to summits between Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019, which Kim Yong Nam did not attend.
Kim Yong Nam joined the Workers' Party after the Korean War, survived political purges in the 1970s, entered the Politburo in 1978, and served as foreign minister from 1983 to 1998.
