Pyongyang, November 4, 2025 – Kim Yong Nam, the only individual outside the ruling Kim family dynasty to serve as North Korea's nominal head of state for over two decades, passed away on Monday, November 3, at the age of 97. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced his death on Tuesday, attributing it to multiple organ failure. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Kim Yong Nam's bier early Tuesday to pay respects, underscoring the deceased's lifelong allegiance to the regime. A state funeral is scheduled for Thursday, with a 100-member national committee, chaired by Kim Jong Un, overseeing the proceedings.
Born on February 4, 1928, in what is now central Pyongyang during Japanese colonial rule, Kim Yong Nam emerged from a family described by KCNA as "patriotic" resistors to occupation. His early education took him to Kim Il Sung University and Moscow State University, where he honed skills that would define his career in a nation increasingly isolated from the world. Joining the Workers' Party of Korea in the mid-1950s, shortly after the 1950-53 Korean War, Kim navigated the treacherous waters of North Korean politics with remarkable tenacity. He survived multiple purges in the 1970s, a period when dissent or perceived disloyalty often led to execution or labor camps.
Kim's ascent accelerated in 1978 when he entered the powerful Politburo. From 1983 to 1998, he served as foreign minister, a role that thrust him into the forefront of Pyongyang's diplomacy during seismic global shifts. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 left North Korea bereft of its primary ally, plunging the country into economic hardship known as the "Arduous March." Kim, however, adapted, cultivating ties with non-aligned nations and third-world partners. He frequently attended summits of the Non-Aligned Movement, including the 2012 gathering in Tehran, Iran, where he represented North Korea's defiance against Western dominance.
In 1998, Kim was elevated to president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament. This position made him the ceremonial head of state, responsible for greeting foreign dignitaries, signing treaties, and delivering thunderous, propaganda-laden speeches in his signature deep, booming voice at national events. Though real power resided with the Kim family—first Kim Il Sung (1948-1994), then Kim Jong Il (1994-2011), and finally Kim Jong Un—Kim Yong Nam's role was pivotal in projecting stability abroad. He welcomed heads of state to Pyongyang and led delegations overseas, often on behalf of the reclusive leaders.
His diplomatic prowess shone during periods of tentative thaw. In 2000 and 2007, he met South Korean presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun at inter-Korean summits, facilitating dialogue amid decades of hostility. The pinnacle came in February 2018, when Kim, at 90, headed a high-level delegation to South Korea for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Accompanied by Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister, he became the highest-ranking North Korean to visit the South since 2014. Seated mere feet from U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Kim symbolized Pyongyang's outreach after a year of missile tests and nuclear brinkmanship. The visit paved the way for historic summits: Kim Jong Un's meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018-2019.
Yet, Kim's influence waned with age. He did not attend the Trump-Kim summits, and in April 2019, he was replaced by Choe Ryong Hae, a Kim Jong Un loyalist and former military political chief. Observers noted Kim's deference to younger elites, such as yielding a VIP lounge seat to Kim Yo Jong in 2018, a gesture highlighting the Kim family's unassailable primacy.
Kim's survival for over seven decades in a purge-prone system was legendary. Former North Korean diplomat Thae Yong Ho, now in South Korea, called him "the perfect role model" for longevity, crediting his unflinching repetition of regime lines and spotless loyalty. He read the eulogy at Kim Il Sung's 1994 funeral and maintained ties to foreign ministries worldwide, per experts like Michael Madden of the Stimson Center.
Reactions poured in from Seoul. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young expressed condolences, recalling "meaningful conversations" on peninsula peace during 2005, 2018 meetings in Pyongyang, and the Olympics. South Korea's ministry issued a formal statement of sympathy.
KCNA eulogized Kim as a comrade who "lived a life of glory and honor" with "clean loyalty and high competence," contributing to North Korea's politics and diplomacy. His death severs one of the last links to the founding era, amid Kim Jong Un's consolidation of power through younger aides.
Globally, analysts view Kim's passing as symbolic of generational transition in Pyongyang. While North Korea's nuclear ambitions and alliances—with Russia in Ukraine, for instance—dominate headlines, Kim represented an older guard of ideological steadfastness. His career spanned the Cold War's end, famine, and fleeting detente, embodying resilience in isolation.
In a nation where the Kim dynasty has ruled since 1948 through hereditary transfers—Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il in 1994 (the first), then to Kim Jong Un in 2011—Kim Yong Nam's non-familial prominence was anomalous. Unrelated to the leaders despite sharing a surname, he exemplified bureaucratic survival: cordial yet scripted, as noted by late Washington Post reporter Don Oberdorfer, who likened him to Soviet hardliner Andrei Gromyko.
As North Korea prepares Thursday's funeral, images released by KCNA show Kim Jong Un solemnly bowing before the glass coffin, flanked by elites. Independent verification is impossible, but the tribute aligns with protocols for high officials.
Kim Yong Nam's legacy is one of unwavering service in a hermetic state. From anti-Japanese roots to Olympic diplomacy, he bridged eras without ever challenging the throne. His death at 97 closes a chapter, reminding the world of North Korea's enduring opacity and the human cost of its loyalty demands. In Pyongyang's narrative, he shone brightly; to outsiders, he was the regime's polished facade.
