Kim Yong Nam served in various diplomatic roles under the regime of the country's founder Kim Il Sung, his son Kim Jong Il, and his grandson Kim Jong Un, although he was not related to the family. He died of multiple organ failure on 3 November, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The agency described him as an "old-generation revolutionary who left extraordinary achievements in the development history of our party and country". A state funeral has been held for him.
Kim Yong Nam was born when the Korean peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule, into what KCNA called a family of "anti-Japanese patriots". He attended the then brand new Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang and also studied in Moscow, before beginning his career in the 1950s.
