Over the weekend, the North Korean media reported in detail on the activities of Kim Yong Nam, the veteran chair of the Standing Committee
of the Supreme People’s Assembly who was in Sochi for the start of the Winter
Olympics.
“Kim Yong Nam courteously conveyed greetings sent by supreme
leader comrade Kim Jong Eun to Russian President Putin,” an article about a
meeting between the two men noted on the 8th. The article, not the first to deal with the subject of Kim’s trip, appeared first on
Chosun Central News Agency, and thereafter in the publication of the Workers’ Party,
Rodong Sinmun.
“The Russian president expressed his deep thanks and asked
Kim Yong Nam to convey his sincere regards to respected comrade Kim Jong Eun,”
the piece added.
Kim also met a number of Russian parliamentarians and state
officials in Moscow en route to the Games in Sochi last Thursday, other
articles have revealed. These included Valentina Matvienko and Ilyas Umakhanov
of the Russian Federation Council, Mikhail Margelov, the chair of the
International Affairs Committee of the same body, and Vice Foreign Minister
Igor Morgulov.
Chosun Central Television also introduced the opening
ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics on the day it took place, the 8th,
focusing on the presence of Kim Yong Nam.
