Pyongyang: North Korea's state media reported Tuesday that the North's former titular head of state, Kim Yong-nam, who had led Pyongyang's diplomacy for decades, has died at the age of 97, with leader Kim Jong-un expressing deep condolences over his death earlier in the day.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim Yong-nam, former chairman of the North's rubber-stamp Supreme People's Assembly, died the previous day from multiple organ failure related to cancer-linked poisoning, as reported by the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim Yong-nam had been battling colorectal cancer since June last year.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited his bier at 1 a.m. Tuesday to express "deep condolences," accompanied by major senior party and government officials, the KCNA said. Kim Yong-nam had a significant diplomatic career, including his visit to South Korea as head of the North's delegation to the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
The parliamentary standing committee and the cabinet decided to hold a state funeral for Kim Yong-nam on Tuesday, and his coffin will leave the facility Wednesday to be laid to rest. The state funeral committee is composed of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Premier Pak Thae-song, current parliamentary standing committee chairman Choe Ryong-hae, and other officials.
Born into a family of "anti-Japanese patriots," Kim Yong-nam attended Kim Il Sung University and studied in Moscow, Russia, before beginning his public service career in diplomacy. He served in various high-profile diplomatic posts spanning the regimes of national founder Kim Il-sung, late leader Kim Jong-il, and current leader Kim Jong-un. Under Kim Il-sung's government, he served as foreign minister and, for 21 years under Kim Jong-il's rule, he served as chairman of the parliamentary standing committee, representing the head of state in a titular capacity.
In 2018, he led a North Korean delegation to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, which included Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the leader, and held a meeting with then President Moon Jae-in. He retired from six decades of public service at the age of 91 in 2019.
"Comrade Kim Yong-nam, an old-generation revolutionary who left extraordinary achievements in the development history of our party and country, wrapped up his noble life at the age of 97," the KCNA said.