N. Korea’s master propagandist under three Kims dies
Kim Ki-nam, a high-profile North Korean figure who dedicated his life to propaganda and agitation under the leadership of all three North Korean leaders since the 1960s, passed away Tuesday at the age of 94, North Korean state media announced Wednesday.
North Korean leader Kim Jongun paid a visit to the funeral of Kim Ki-am at 2 a.m. on Wednesday to convey his deep condolences over his passing, according to state media.
State media reported the passing of Kim Ki-nam, who had been receiving medical care for his old age and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome since April 2022, while also lauding his accomplishments.
“For over 60 years, he dedicated himself to consolidating the ideological and theoretical foundation of the party and victoriously advancing the Juche revolution,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said in a Korean-language dispatch obituary, further noting that Kim commenced his tenure at the Central Committee of the Workers‘ Party of Korea in May 1956.
In the 1970s, Kim held a position overseeing the editing and publication of the political and theoretical magazine Kulloja and the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, both of which serve as organs of the WPK Central Committee, North Korean state media said in his obituary.
Kim served as the director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department for over three decades from 1985 to 2017. Kim assumed the position of vice director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department in 1966, according to a database provided by the Unification Ministry in Seoul.
Kim had been credited with creating the cult of personality surrounding the Kim family dynasty, particularly throughout the threegeneration hereditary succession process, by taking key posts at the Propaganda and Agitation Department.
“He accumulated remarkable accomplishments that were irreplaceable, as he faithfully upheld the ideology and leadership of the great leader, Kim Jong-il, at the forefront, vigorously enhancing the ideological unity between the party and the revolutionary ranks,” the Korean-language obituary read.
The obituary read that Kim Kinam also “played a distinguished role in thoroughly establishing the monolithic leadership system of respected Comrade Kim Jong-un and steadily enhancing the political and ideological might of socialism in our style.”
Kim Ki-nam was widely recognized as a “political mentor” to Kim Jong-un and a close aide to Kim Jong-il. He was one of only two individuals among the seven who escorted Kim Jong-il‘s hearse in 2011 to continue his political career under Kim Jong-un’s rule.
However, Kim Ki-nam‘s significant role in creating the cult of personality around the Kim dynasty and contributing to perpetuating one of the longest-running dynastic dictatorships, all while exerting control over the public, led to him becoming a target of sanctions.
In 2016, Kim was designated by the United States Treasury Department along with Kim Jong-un and other North Korean senior officials for their involvement in, facilitation of, and responsibility for human rights abuses or violations by the North Korean government or the Workers‘ Party. Kim also faced blacklisting by the South Korean government during the same year.
During Kim Jong-il‘s rule, Kim Ki-nam notably made bold moves during his visits to South Korea.
In 2005, while concurrently serving as vice-chair of the Committee for the Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland, he led a delegation to Seoul to attend the August 15 Grand National Festival, marking the first visit by a North Korean official to the National Cemetery since the 1950-53 Korean War.
Then, in August 2009, following the passing of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, he traveled to Seoul as a special envoy of then-Chairman Kim Jongil, leading a condolence delegation. After completing the condolence visit, he postponed his return trip to meet with then-South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
As Korea’s No. 1 English newspaper, The Korea Herald provides handpicked news in English through Naver’s mobile news service.
Select “news contents” on the Naver mobile app and choose The Korea Herald from the specialty journal category to get the latest news in English every day.