Kim Jong Un, the North Korean Chairman, paid his respects at the funeral of Kim Ki-nam, the former propaganda secretary, on the 8th. (Yonhap News)
Kim Ki Nam, who had been leading the regime’s propaganda for three generations, from Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il, and was known as the Goebbels of North Korea, has passed away. Kim Jong Un has personally taken on the role of Chairman of the National Funeral Committee.
On the 8th, the Korean Central News Agency reported, “Comrade Kim Ki Nam, who had been receiving treatment for chronic illnesses and multiple organ failure since April 2022, unfortunately, passed away at the age of 94 on the 7th at 10 o’clock.”
The agency further evaluated, “Comrade Kim Ki Nam dedicated everything to the sacred struggle to firmly guarantee the political victory of our revolution’s ideological purity and the socialist cause.”
The deceased, so-called the Goebbels of North Korea and Propaganda Godfather, started his career in the propaganda department in the 1960s and worked hard to secure the legitimacy and idolization of the three-generation succession of the Kim family.
While Kim Ki Nam maintained his position after Kim Jong Un’s regime’s launch, he stepped down as deputy chairman and propaganda chief at the 2nd plenary meeting of the 7th Workers’ Party in October 2017 amid the trend of generational change.
The agency said, “The body was placed in the Sojang Hall in the Botong River District in Pyongyang, and visitors will be received from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the 8th, and the funeral will be held at 9 a.m. on the 9th.” Kim Jong Un also visited the funeral home at 2 a.m. on the 8th to express his condolences and comfort the bereaved family.
The deceased, who was a close aide to Kim Jong Il, the chairman of the National Defense Commission, also visited the South as the head of the North Korean special envoy group when former President Kim Dae Jung passed away on August 18, 2009.
In August 2005, during his visit to Seoul to participate in the 8.15 National Festival, he made a groundbreaking visit to the National Cemetery. Then he visited former President Kim Dae Jung, who was hospitalized with pneumonia symptoms.
Most Commented