General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un went early in the morning on the 4th to mourn the former Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, Kim Yong Nam, expressing deep condolences for his passing.
Kim Yong Nam, who was loyal to the Kim family throughout his life, served as North Korea's nominal head of state for as long as 20 years.
According to KCNA, former Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea Kim Yong Nam passed away on the 3rd at the age of 97.
From 1998 to April 2019, Kim Yong Nam served as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly. This position is the nominal head of state in North Korea, but real power has always been held by the Kim family, who have ruled North Korea since its founding in 1948.
Kim Yong Nam often gave propaganda-filled speeches in an impressive, deep voice at important national occasions and frequently represented current leader Kim Jong Un and his late father Kim Jong Il in official media appearances to receive visiting foreign dignitaries.
In February 2018, he traveled to South Korea with Kim Jong Un's influential younger sister Kim Yo Jong to attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. This trip made Kim Yong Nam the highest-ranking North Korean official to visit South Korea since Kim Jong Un sent a senior general for a visit during the closing ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games in 2014.