Pyongyang: North Korea has bid farewell to one of its pivotal figures, Kim Ki Nam, the former propaganda chief renowned for orchestrating the cult of personality surrounding the Kim dynasty. His demise was announced by state media on Wednesday, with poignant images capturing leader Kim Jong Un paying his respects at the funeral bier.
According to the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim Ki Nam passed away on Tuesday at the age of 94, succumbing to old age and “multiple organ dysfunction” after receiving medical care since 2022.
Kim Jong Un, in an early morning visit to the funeral hall on Wednesday, silently honored Kim Ki Nam’s memory, expressing profound sorrow over the loss of a revolutionary stalwart unwaveringly loyal to the regime, as reported by KCNA. A wreath, bearing the name of Kim Jong Un, was tenderly laid before the departed’s bier.
Primarily recognized for his stewardship of North Korea’s pivotal propaganda department, Kim Ki Nam held sway over the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, Pyongyang’s official mouthpiece, during the 1970s. State media hailed him as “a veteran of our Party and the revolution, a prestigious theoretician and a prominent political activist,” attributing to him the architectonics of the Kim dynasty’s cult.
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An image disseminated by the Rodong Sinmun depicted a solemn Kim Jong Un, clad in a dark suit, paying his respects alongside senior party and military officials, against the backdrop of a flower-adorned bier.
The Kim dynasty, entrenched by the founding leader Kim Il Sung, has wielded absolute authority over the impoverished, insular nation, perpetuating an all-encompassing cult of personality spanning three generations. Revered as the “Paektu bloodline”, after the nation’s highest peak believed to be the birthplace of the late Kim Jong Il, the family commands unparalleled veneration in the North Korean psyche.
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In a poignant comparison, Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher heading the World Institute for North Korea Studies, likened the late Kim Ki Nam to Paul Joseph Goebbels, the notorious chief propagandist of the Nazis. “It is safe to say that the propaganda and agitation strategies of the Kim dynasty all came from Kim Ki Nam’s mind,” remarked Ahn.
Kim Ki Nam’s pivotal role as the regime’s chief propagandist eventually transitioned to Kim Jong Un’s influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, in the late 2010s, according to Seoul’s unification ministry.
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In 2009, Kim Ki Nam led a North Korean delegation to South Korea to pay respects at the funeral of Seoul’s former dovish president, Kim Dae-jung, extending condolences on behalf of Pyongyang’s then-leader Kim Jong II.
Kim Dae-jung’s historic visit to Pyongyang in 2000, where he held talks with Kim Jong Il, marked a significant thaw in inter-Korean relations. During his 2009 visit to Seoul, Kim Ki Nam engaged with South Korea’s then-president Lee Myung-bak.
