Kim Yong Nam, North Korea’s Longtime Ceremonial Head of State Who Served Three Generations of the Kim Dynasty, Dies at 97

North Korea’s former ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong Nam, who loyally served under three generations of the ruling Kim family, has died aged 97, state media announced.

According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim died of multiple organ failure on 3 November. He was remembered as an “old-generation revolutionary” who made “extraordinary contributions” to the country’s political and diplomatic history. A state funeral has already been held in his honour.

Kim Yong Nam spent more than six decades within the inner workings of North Korea’s political elite. He served under the nation’s founder Kim Il Sung, his son Kim Jong Il, and current leader Kim Jong Un, making him one of the longest-serving figures in the history of the regime.

Although never a member of the Kim family, Kim held senior positions in the ruling Workers’ Party and the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA)—North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament—where he acted as president from 1998 to 2019.

Despite lacking real power, Kim was often regarded as the international face of North Korea, representing the regime at global events and diplomatic meetings.

Born during Japan’s occupation of the Korean peninsula, Kim Yong Nam was described by KCNA as coming from a family of “anti-Japanese patriots.” After studying at Kim Il Sung University and furthering his education in Moscow, he began his political career in the 1950s, eventually rising to the post of foreign minister.

During his decades in office, Kim became known for his cautious diplomacy and unswerving loyalty. He attended multiple inter-Korean summits, meeting with South Korean presidents Kim Dae-jung in 2000 and Roh Moo-hyun in 2007, and led North Korea’s delegation to the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, where he met then–South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Analysts say Kim’s ability to maintain his position across three leadership transitions was remarkable in a system notorious for political purges.

Former North Korean diplomat Thae Yong Ho, who defected to the South, told the BBC that Kim Yong Nam “never made his own opinions known” and “never put out a new policy,” adding that his strict discipline and lack of controversy made him the “perfect survivor” in Pyongyang’s volatile power circles.

Unlike other high-ranking officials who were demoted, imprisoned, or executed — including Kim Jong Un’s uncle Chang Song Thaek, who was executed in 2013 for “acts of treachery” — Kim retired quietly in April 2019.

Kim’s death marks the end of an era for North Korea’s revolutionary old guard — figures who maintained the regime’s continuity across generations and upheld its image of absolute loyalty to the Kim dynasty.