A former member of the North Korean leadership who served all three generations of the ruling Kim family as the master of propaganda operations has reportedly died at the age of 94.
The state-run Korean Central Television reported that Kim Ki Nam, former secretary of the Central Committee of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, died of multiple organ failure on Tuesday.
It also stated that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid tribute to the former official at his funeral hall early on Wednesday.
After working as chief editorial writer of the Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun, Kim Ki Nam began overseeing the party's propaganda and ideology control operations in the 1980s.
His service spanned the regimes of the country's founder Kim Il Sung, his son Kim Jong Il and current leader Kim Jong Un.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that Kim Ki Nam orchestrated the efforts to idolize North Korea's leaders.
Kim Jong Un reportedly felt grief over the loss of a veteran revolutionary who remained a loyal, capable official until his death.
He will reportedly head the state funeral committee for Kim Ki Nam.