Kim Yong-nam (; February 4, 1928 – November 3, 2025) was a North Korean politician who served as the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, from 1998 until 2019. Due to holding the office, he was considered the head of state of North Korea; the country's constitution was amended once he left office in 2019 to transfer this position to the President of the State Affairs Commission, Kim Jong Un. Previously, he had served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1983 to 1998. He was elected a member of the Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in 2010.
Life and career
Accounts of Kim's early life vary. According to Fyodor Tertitskiy of NK News, he was born Kim Myong-sam to a Korean-Chinese family in the village of Dapu Shihe in Manchuria, in what is now the Liaoning province of China, on February 4, 1928. Kim's official biography states that he was born in Pyongyang, Korea, Empire of Japan (now North Korea). His family came from the Jeonju Kim clan, making him a very distant relative of the Kim family. He came to North Korea with the Chinese People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War and chose to stay. His elevation to Minister of Foreign Affairs is believed to have occurred as part of a reorganization of the diplomatic bureaucracy after the Rangoon bombing in October 1983. In 1988, he was responsible for the arrangement of unofficial diplomatic contacts with the United States through their respective embassies in Beijing.
President of the Presidium
On 5 September 1998, Kim was appointed as the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly. As president of the Presidium, Kim Yong-nam was sometimes called the "nominal head of state" of North Korea. The journalist and academic Don Oberdorfer described Kim as enigmatic, rigid in his official role, personally pleasant, highly intelligent, and an important figure behind the scenes in Pyongyang. Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Singapore in 2007. On March 18, 2008, he embarked on a goodwill tour of four African states. Arriving in Namibia on March 20, he was present for the official completion of a new presidential residence that was built by North Korea. He also held talks with Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba and signed an agreement on public health cooperation with Pohamba. 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on February 7, 2014, 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on February 9, 2018, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony on June 14, 2018. On July 14, 2009, Kim met Vietnamese president Nguyen Minh Triet on the sidelines of the 15th Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Egypt. Kim represented North Korea at the 2015 Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9, 2015, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. He attended the May 19, 2016 presidential inauguration of Equatoguinean president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. As representative of North Korea, he attended the investiture ceremony of Andrés Manuel López Obrador as president of Mexico on December 1, 2018.
Retirement and death
Kim retired on April 11, 2019, in a government reshuffle, aged 91, after almost 21 years as President of the SPA Presidium and almost 41 years as Party Politburo member (having first been elected to the body in August 1978). In 2024, he attended a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s death. KCNA also reported North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the bier of Kim Yong-nam at the Sojang Funeral Hall to express deep condolences over his death. He was buried at the Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery in Pyongyang, following a state funeral on November 5.
List of international trips
As President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, Kim Yong Nam conducted numerous foreign visits to represent the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Date !! Country !! Location !! Purpose of Visit !! Notes
|-
|3–7 June 1999
|
|
|Official goodwill visit
|At the invitation of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the State Council.
|-
|7–21 April 1999
|
|Havana
|Official visit
|Participated in the south summit and met with Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
|-
|11–14 July 2001
|
|Hanoi
|Official goodwill visit
|Met with Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong.
|-
|15–17 July 2001
|
|Vientiane
|Official goodwill visit
|Met with Laotian President Khamtay Siphandone.
|-
|17–20 July 2001
|
|Phnom Penh
|Official goodwill visit
|Met with King Norodom Sihanouk.
|-
|28 February–3 March 2002
|
|Bangkok
|Official visit
|
|-
|4–6 March 2002
|
|Kuala Lumpur
|Official visit
|
|-
| 10–12 July 2002 || || Jakarta || Official visit || Met with President Megawati Sukarnoputri to strengthen bilateral ties.
|-
|13–16 July 2002
|
|Tarabulus
|Official visit
|
|-
|17–19 July 2002
|
|Damascus
|Official visit
|
|-
|19–21 October 2004
|
|
|Official visit
|
|-
| April 2005 || || Bandung || Asian-African Summit || Attended the 50th anniversary of the Bandung Conference.
|-
| 20–23 July 2007 || || Ulaanbaatar || Official visit || Part of a multi-nation tour including Russia and several African nations.
|-
|July 2007
|
|Moscow
|
|
|-
| 24–26 July 2007 || || Algiers || Official visit || Discussed economic cooperation.
|-
| July 2007 || || Cairo || State visit || Met with Egyptian officials to maintain long-standing diplomatic relations.
|-
|27 July–1 August 2007
|
|Addis Ababa
|
|
|-
| August 2007 || || Singapore || Official visit || Focused on economic development models.
|-
| March 2008 || || Windhoek || Official visit || Attended the opening of the new Presidential Palace (built by North Korea).
|-
| March 2008 || || Luanda || Official visit || Met with President José Eduardo dos Santos.
|-
| March 2008 || || Kinshasa || Official visit || Met with President Joseph Kabila.
|-
| March 2008 || || Kampala || Official visit || Met with President Yoweri Museveni.
|-
| August 2008 || || Beijing || 2008 Summer Olympics || Attended the opening ceremony.
|-
|May 2009
|
|Johannesburg
|Official visit
|
|-
|May 2009
|
|Harare
|Official visit
|
|-
| July 2009 || || Sharm el-Sheikh || 15th NAM Summit || Represented North Korea at the Non-Aligned Movement summit.
|-
|March 2010
|
|Libreville
|Official visit
|
|-
|April 2010
|
|Dakar
|Official visit
|
|-
|April 2010
|
|Dakar
|Official visit
|
|-
|May 2010
|
|Shanghai
|Shanghai World Expo
|
|-
|December 2011
|
|Dar-Es-Salaam
|Official visit
|
|-
|May 2012
|
|Singapore
|
|
|-
| May 2012 || || Jakarta || State visit || Official visit to strengthen "traditional" friendship.
|-
|August 2012
|
|Hanoi
|
|
|-
|August 2012
|
|Vientiane
|
|
|-
| August 2012 || || Tehran || 16th NAM Summit || Signed a cooperation agreement on science and technology.
|-
|August 2013
|
|Beijing
|Transit
|Stopped by China while en route to Iran.
|-
|August 2013
|
|Tehran
|Official visit
|Attended the first inauguration of Hassan Rouhani
|-
| February 2014 || || Sochi || 2014 Winter Olympics || Attended the opening ceremony and met with Vladimir Putin.
|-
|October 2014
|
|Khartoum
|
|
|-
|October 2014
|
|Brazzaville
|
|
|-
|October 2014
|
|Kampala
|
|
|-
| May 2015 || || Moscow || Victory Day Parade || Represented the DPRK at the 70th anniversary of WWII victory.
|-
|August 2015
|
|Cairo
|
|
|-
|May 2016
|
|Malabo
|
|
|-
| September 2016 || || Isla Margarita || 17th NAM Summit || Met with President Nicolás Maduro.
|-
| August 2017 || || Tehran || Presidential Inauguration || Attended the second inauguration of Hassan Rouhani.
|-
| February 2018 || || Pyeongchang || 2018 Winter Olympics || Led the high-level delegation; first nominal head of state to visit the South.
|-
| June 2018 || || Moscow || 2018 FIFA World Cup || Attended the opening ceremony of the World Cup.
|-
| November 2018 || || Havana || State visit || Met with President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
|-
| November 2018 || || Caracas || State visit || Strengthened ties with the Maduro administration.
|-
| December 2018 || || Mexico City || Presidential Inauguration || Attended the inauguration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
|}
Works
See also
- Politics of North Korea