Kim Yong-nam

Kim Yong-nam (born 4 February 1928) is the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, a position he has held since 1998.^[1] Previously he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1983 to 1998.^[2] He was elected a member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in 2010.

Life and career

He was born in the Central District, Heijo (now called Pyongyang), on February 4, 1928. After graduating from a 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.^[3]

As chairman of the Presidium, Kim Yong-nam has been called the "nominal head of state" of North Korea.^[4] The deceased founding leader, Kim Il-sung, is designated in the North Korean constitution as the country's "Eternal President". However, Kim Yong-nam accepts the credentials of ambassadors, signs treaties, receives visiting heads of state and represents North Korea on all state visits—the functions normally performed by a head of state in other countries. He has held this office since 5 September 1998.

In theory, he, Premier Pak Pong-ju, and National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un form a tripartite executive, each having powers equal to a third of a president's in Presidential systems, controlling foreign relations, government and domestic affairs, and defense, respectively. In practice, Kim Jong-un, like his father, Kim Jong-il, before him, exercises absolute control over the country, and the Chairman of the Presidium is sometimes considered the "number two official".^[5]

Diplomatic activity

Kim embarked on a two-week tour of Mongolia, Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Singapore on 20 July 2007. On 18 March 2008, he embarked on a goodwill tour of four African states.^[6] Arriving in Namibia on 20 March, he was present for the inauguration of a new presidential residence that was built by North Korea.^[7] He also held talks with Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba and signed an agreement on public health cooperation with Pohamba.^[6][7] He subsequently visited Angola, where he met with President José Eduardo Dos Santos on 24 March, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he met with President Joseph Kabila on 26 March, and Uganda, where he met with President Yoweri Museveni on 29 March. He returned to North Korea on 1 April.^[6]

Kim also attended the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony on 8 August 2008 as well as the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on 7 February 2014. On 14 July 2009, Kim Yong-nam met with Vietnamese president Nguyen Minh Triet on the sidelines of the 15th Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Egypt.^[8]

See also

• Politics of North Korea
• Supreme People's Assembly

References

Members of the Presidium of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea First Secretary 1. Kim Jong-un (Supreme leader) Other members 2. Kim Yong-nam (Assembly chairman) 3. Hwang Pyong-so (Director of the General Political Bureau)

Heads of state of North Korea Chairmen of the Presidium Kim Tu-bong (1948–57) Choe Yong-gon (1957–72) President Kim Il-sung (1972–94) Chairmen of the Presidium Yang Hyong-sop (1994–98) Kim Yong-nam (1998–) After his death in 1994, Kim Il-sung was proclaimed Eternal President.

Chairmen of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly Kim Tu-bong (1948–57) Choe Yong-gon (1957–72) Hwang Jang-yop (1972–83) Yang Hyong-sop (1983–98) Kim Yong-nam (1998–)

Foreign Ministers of North Korea Pak Hon-yong Nam Il Park Sung-chul Ho Dam Kim Yong-nam Paek Nam-sun Kang Sok-ju (acting) Pak Ui-chun Ri Su-yong