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DP lawmaker asks to be sent as envoy to North parliamentary leader's funeral

Published: 04 Nov. 2025, 17:35 Updated: 05 Nov. 2025, 13:08

Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly Chairman Kim Yong-nam, right, greets now-Democratic Party Rep. Park Jie-won before a meeting with the special delegation from the South at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang on Sept. 18, 2018. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Following the death of Kim Yong-nam, the former chairman of North Korea's Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, Democratic Party Rep. Park Jie-won asked the South Korean government to send him as a special envoy to offer condolences.

Kim, who served as the North's nominal head of state for nearly two decades, died on Monday at the age of 97. The cause of death was reported as multiple organ failure due to cancer-related toxicosis.

“I was saddened to hear of the passing of Kim Yong-nam, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly,” Park wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “I extend my deepest condolences to his family and the North Korean people.”

Describing Kim as “a quiet and dignified former diplomat,” Park recalled that they had met more than 10 times.

“Both Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un treated him with the utmost respect,” he added.

The lawmaker stressed that delegation exchanges for funerals have served as turning points in inter-Korean relations.

“When President Kim Dae-jung passed away, North Korea sent a delegation led by Kim Ki-nam,” he said. “And in return, former first lady Lee Hee-ho visited Pyongyang to offer condolences after Kim Jong-il's death. These gestures helped reopen dialogue between the two Koreas.”

Democratic Party Rep. Park Jie-won speaks at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Feb. 13. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Park added that in 1994, when North Korean founder Kim Il Sung died, lawmaker Lee Bu-young proposed sending a delegation, but the Kim Young-sam administration rejected the idea.

“Years later, during a U.S. visit, the State Department’s Korean desk officer [...] told me it was a mistake not to accept the proposal,” he added.

Park said on Tuesday that he had conveyed his intention to Unification Minister Chung Dong-young and would formally request it again during a parliamentary audit session with National Intelligence Service Director Lee Jong-seok later that day.

“I earnestly hope our government will send me as a special envoy to offer condolences, and that the North will accept,” he said.

The Unification Ministry also expressed its condolences over Kim Yong-nam's passing in a statement issued under Minister Chung's name.

Kim, a central figure in North Korea’s foreign policy across the Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un eras, was one of the North’s most recognizable diplomatic figures. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un paid his respects early on Tuesday at Pyongyang’s Sojang Club, where Kim’s body lay in state. The funeral is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Wednesday.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAE JAE-SUNG [[email protected]]