SEOUL, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Kim Yong Nam, a North Korean diplomat and politician who served under three generations of the Kim family dynasty, has died at age 97, state media reported Tuesday.
He died on Monday due to multiple organ failure caused by cancer, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
Kim held the role of President of the Presidium of the People's Supreme Assembly -- North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament -- from 1998-2019, making him the nominal head of state under leaders Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un.
He also served as foreign minister and was often the public face of North Korean diplomacy. Kim attended several high-profile international events, including the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea, where he led a delegation including Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of Kim Jong Un. That trip, which included a meeting with then-President Moon Jae-in, helped spur a brief period of detente between the two Koreas.
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