The "Goebbels of North Korea" has died

The main propagandist of the DPRK, Kim Ki-nam, who was called the “North Korean Goebbels,” died at the age of 94. The BBC reports this with reference to local media.

According to journalists, Kim Ki Nam has been ill for the past two years. He died after multiple organs failed. Where exactly he died is not reported. He was buried on Wednesday morning, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attending the ceremony.

In 1966, Kim Ki Nam became deputy director of the Pyongyang Department of Propaganda and Agitation, and then headed it. This department controlled all information disseminated within and outside the country. Under Kim Ki-nam, North Korea banned music and films from South Korea and Western countries.

The BBC notes that Kim Ki Nam played a big role in establishing the personality cult of Kim Il Sung in the DPRK. He then supported the leadership succession of Kim Jong Il and, in 2011, Kim Jong Un.

Kim Ki Nam stepped down in the late 2010s, handing over his position to Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Ye Jong. However, he continued to appear at public events. The BBC calls this a sign that he remains on good terms with the regime. The South Korean news agency Yonhap compared Kim Ki-nam to the Minister of Propaganda of the Third Reich, Joseph Goebbels.

Rachel Lee, a senior fellow at US think tank 38 North Programme, told the BBC that Kim Jong Un had for a long time "kept Kim Ki Nam in key propaganda positions, showing that he, like his father, trusted and relied on him on him".

Professor Leif-Eric Easley of Ewha University in Seoul called Kim Ki-nam's death the "end of an era" for North Korean propaganda.

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