CNN —Kim Ki Nam, one of the longest-serving North Korean officials who served all three generations of its leaders cementing their political legitimacy and heading the propaganda apparatus for the dynastic state, has died, official media said on Wednesday.
North Korea leader Kim Jong Un visited the bier of Kim at 2 a.m. on Wednesday to pay tribute “with bitter grief over the loss of a veteran revolutionary who had remained boundlessly loyal” to the country until the very end, it said.
Kim died on Tuesday at the age of 94, official KCNA news agency said.
Kim exerted tremendous influence on policy and personnel and was a key architect of the ruling Workers’ Party’s political foundation, according to North Korea expert Michael Madden at the Stimson Center.
He was particularly close to Kim Jong-il, the father of the current leader who died in 2011, and was believed to be his “drinking buddy,” Madden said citing sources.
Persons:
CNN — Kim Ki Nam, Kim Jong Un, Kim, ”, “, ” KCNA, Kim Dae, Kim Il, Michael Madden, Kim Jong, ” Madden
Organizations:
CNN, North Korean, North, South, Stimson
Locations:
North Korea, Pyongyang, Korea