Kim Yong-nam

Kim Yong-nam (Korean: 김영남; born February 4, 1928)[3] is a North Korean politician who is the former President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, from 1998 until 2019.[4] Previously, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1983 to 1998.[5] He was elected a member of the Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in 2010.

Not to be confused with Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of Kim Jong-il.
For other people with the same name, see Kim Yeong-nam.
In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.
Kim Yong-nam
김영남
Kim Yong-nam in 2014
5th President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly
In office
September 5, 1998 – April 11, 2019
PremierHong Song-nam
Pak Pong-ju
Kim Yong-il
Choe Yong-rim
Pak Pong-ju
Vice PresidentYang Hyong-sop
Kim Yong-dae
Supreme LeaderKim Jong-il
Kim Jong-un
Preceded byYang Hyong-sop
Succeeded byChoe Ryong-hae
Member of the Supreme People's Assembly
Assumed office
April 11, 2019
ConstituencyRangrang
Member of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea
Assumed office
2016
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
December 1983 – September 5, 1998
Supreme LeaderKim Il-sung
Kim Jong-il
Preceded byHo Dam
Succeeded byPaek Nam-sun
Personal details
Born (1928-02-04) February 4, 1928
Heijo, Japanese Korea (now Pyongyang, North Korea)
Political partyWorkers' Party of Korea
Alma materTomsk State University
Rostov State University[1][2]
Signature
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl
김영남
Hancha
金永南
Revised RomanizationGim Yeong-nam
McCune–ReischauerKim Yŏng-nam
Kim Yong-nam in 2012

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, in 1928.[6] He came to North Korea with the Chinese People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War and chose to stay.[6] Shortly before the end of the war in 1953, he went to the USSR to study. His experience with the USSR and China propelled his career in foreign affairs.[6] In 1956, he became a section chief at the Foreign Department of the Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea and was a vice-minister for foreign affairs by 1962.[6]

According to his official biography, Kim was born in Heijo, Japanese Korea (now Pyongyang, North Korea).[6] After graduating from university, he worked as a teacher at the Central Party School, vice-department director of the WPK Central Committee, vice-minister of foreign affairs, and first vice-department director, department director and secretary of the WPK Central Committee, vice-premier of the administration council and concurrently Minister of Foreign Affairs.[7] 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.[8]

As chairman of the Presidium, Kim Yong-nam was sometimes called the "nominal head of state" of North Korea.[9] He held this office from September 5, 1998 to April 11, 2019. The President of the Presidium is sometimes considered the "number two official".[10] 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.[11] He has been assessed as having high-level political and diplomatic skills.[6]

Diplomatic activity

Kim embarked on a two-week tour of Mongolia, Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Singapore on July 20, 2007. On March 18, 2008, he embarked on a goodwill tour of four African states.[12] Arriving in Namibia on March 20, he was present for the official completion of a new presidential residence that was built by North Korea.[13] He also held talks with Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba and signed an agreement on public health cooperation with Pohamba.[12][13] He subsequently visited Angola, where he met President José Eduardo Dos Santos on March 24, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he met President Joseph Kabila on March 26, and Uganda, where he met President Yoweri Museveni on March 29. He returned to North Korea on April 1.[12]

Kim also attended the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony on August 8, 2008, 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.[14] 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.[15] He also paid an official visit to Equatorial Guinea on May 19, 2016 to attend the presidential inauguration of Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

As representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, he attended the investiture ceremony of Andrés Manuel López Obrador as president of Mexico on December 1, 2018.

Retirement

He retired on April 11, 2019 in a government reshuffle, aged 91, after almost 21 years as President of the SPA Presidium and roughly four decades as Party Politburo member (having first been elected to the body in August 1978).[6]

Works
  • Kim Yong-nam (1985). "Interview with Yong-Nam Kim, Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister of the Democratic Peoples's Republic of Korea". Journal of Northeast Asian Studies. 4: 66–75. doi:10.1007/BF03025039.
  • — (September 1988). "The International Prestige and Influence of the DPRK Are Increasing Daily" (PDF). Kulloja. OCLC 9516938.

See also

References
  1. КИМ ЁН НАМ.ЭНЦИКЛОПЕДИЯ.Всемирная история
  2. Ким Ён Нам – 5-й Министр иностранных дел КНДР
  3. East, Roger; Thomas, Richard J. (June 3, 2014). Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders. Routledge. p. 278. ISBN 978-1-317-63940-4. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  4. "Blessings, condolences". The Pyongyang Times. January 6, 2007. p. 1.
  5. Dae-woong, Jin (October 4, 2007). "Who's who in North Korea's power elite". The Korea Herald. Retrieved October 5, 2007.
  6. Tertitskiy, Fyodor (April 12, 2019). "The great survivor: after 21 years at the top, Kim Yong Nam steps down". NK News. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  7. "Profiles of Presidium and Members of Political Bureau" Archived September 26, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, KCNA, September 29, 2010.
  8. Oberdorfer, Don; Carlin, Robert (2014). The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History. Basic Books. p. 184. ISBN 9780465031238.
  9. Oberdorfer, Don; Carlin, Robert (2014). The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History. Basic Books. p. 465. ISBN 9780465031238.
  10. "Jimmy Carter lands in North Korea to bring home jailed Boston man". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on August 28, 2010. He later sat down for talks with the No. 2 official, Kim Yong Nam, APTN said.
  11. Oberdorfer, Don; Carlin, Robert (2014). The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History. Basic Books. p. 185. ISBN 9780465031238.
  12. "N Korean leader returns after visiting four African countries", Yonhap (AsiaPulse via COMTEX), April 2, 2008.
  13. "Namibia, NKorea hail friendship", Sapa (IOL), March 21, 2008.
  14. Vietnam president meets DPRK leader
  15. Kaise, Akihiko (May 11, 2015). "Pyongyang plays up closer ties with Russia despite absence of Kim Jong Un in Moscow". The Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015.
Political offices
Preceded by
Ho Dam		 Minister of Foreign Affairs
1983–1998		 Succeeded by
Paek Nam-sun
Preceded by
Yang Hyong-sop		 Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea
1998–2019		 Succeeded by
Choe Ryong-hae
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