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The South Korean Unification Ministry announced on Feb. 4 that Kim Young-nam, Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly in North Korea, will lead a delegation to South Korea on Feb. 9-11. Kim is shown reading a report at the 7th North Korean Workers’ Party Congress in May 2016.
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Kim has served as North Korea’s head of state at a number of overseas functions
Kim Yong-nam, the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, will be leading a delegation of high-ranking officials from North Korea to celebrate the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Kim has often attended functions overseas in the role of North Korea’s head of state. South Korea’s Ministry of Unification reported that North Korea notified the South on the evening of Feb. 4 that a high-ranking delegation consisting of three officials, under Kim’s lead, and 18 support staff was planning to visit the South from Feb. 9 to 11. “Since North Korea did not specify the officials or support staff who would join Kim, further deliberations will probably be necessary,” said an official at the Unification Ministry. As the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly (the equivalent to South Korea’s National Assembly), Kim is nominally the head of state, according to the North Korean constitution. This is the reason that Kim has represented North Korea at various international events. Considering that the leaders of various countries around the world will be attending the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Olympics, North Korea presumably chose Kim to attend since he would be comparable in rank. North Korea’s notification contained no detailed information about the three officials who would be visiting the South with Kim, who is in his nineties. Kim is likely to play a symbolic role while the officials who accompany him provide the substance of the delegation. If North Korea wishes to pave the way for genuine dialogue during the Pyeongchang Olympics, the delegation is likely to include one of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s trusted confidantes, such as KWP Central Committee Vice Chairman Choe Ryong-hae, the second most powerful figure in the North. By Jung In-hwan, staff reporter Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
