Overview
- KCNA said the ceremony in Pyongyang featured state honors and a gun salute, with Kim Jong Un attending and receiving the cortege at the cemetery.
- The agency reported he died of multiple organ failure resulting from an oncological disease earlier this week at the age of 97.
- Kim Yong Nam led the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly from 1998 to 2019 and frequently represented North Korea in international diplomacy.
- China’s Foreign Ministry offered condolences, with spokesperson Mao Ning calling him a friend of the Chinese people who advanced bilateral ties.
- South Korea’s unification minister noted his leadership of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic delegation and role in restarting dialogue, while Russian parliamentary leaders Valentina Matviyenko and Vyacheslav Volodin praised his interparliamentary engagement.