The cause of Kim's death was cancer. His funeral will be held with state honors, and the current leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, is part of the organizing committee for the ceremony. He also attended the mourning event and laid a wreath at his monument.
Kim Yong Nam was born in 1928 in Pyongyang. From 1946 to 1959, he studied in the Soviet Union, where he attended the historical faculty at the universities of Tomsk and Rostov-on-Don. In 1963, he began his diplomatic career, becoming the first deputy minister of foreign affairs of North Korea, and in 1970 he was elected a member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Since 1978, he was also a member of the Politburo.
From December 1983 to September 1998, Kim Yong Nam served as the Prime Minister of the Administrative Council of the DPRK while simultaneously leading the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1998, he was appointed Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, which, according to the constitution of the DPRK, is the highest state position. He held this position until 2019.
Throughout his political career, Kim Yong Nam represented North Korea at various international forums and events.
