North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and senior officials of the DPRK pay condolences to Kim Ki Nam, former secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea who died on Tuesday in Pyongyang. Photo: VCG

North Korean chief delegate Kim Ki Nam (right), vice chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, pays his respects to Korean War victims at the Seoul National Cemetery on Aug. 14, 2005. Photo: Jung Yeon-Je/VCG

South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young (right) holds talks with Kim Ki Nam on Aug. 14, 2005 in Seoul. A delegation of North Korean government officials and private representatives arrived in Seoul on the morning of the same day to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Korean liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Photo: Chung Sung-Jun/VCG

Kim Ki Nam (left) shakes hands with former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung (right), who was hospitalized for bacterial pneumonia, at a hospital in Seoul on Aug. 16, 2005. Kim conveyed greetings from the then North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Photo: VCG

Kim Ki Nam (left), raises a toast with Kim Won-ki, speaker of the South Korean National Assembly, in Seoul, Aug. 16, 2005. Photo: Chung Sung-Jun/VCG

Kim Ki Nam (right) talks with Lim Dong-ok, vice chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, in front of a South Korean flag during his visit to the National Assembly in Seoul, Aug. 16, 2005. Photo: Lee Jin-Man/VCG

Then South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun (right) shakes hands with North Korean chief delegate Kim Ki Nam (left) during their meeting at the presidential Blue House in Seoul on Aug. 17, 2005. Photo: Kim Jae-Hwan/VCG

Then-South Korean President Lee Myung-bak (right) talks with North Korea's top envoy Kim Ki Nam (center) at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, Aug. 23, 2009. Photo: VCG

Kim Ki Nam (5th from left), then vice chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea, attends a rally at Mount Paektu on the North Korea-China border on Aug. 14, 2017, amid heightened tensions between Washington and Pyongyang. Photo: VCG