North Korea leader Kim Jong Uns top aide dead reports

North Korea leader Kim Jong Uns top aide dead  reports

A senior North Korean ruling party official and a top aide to leader Kim Jong Un has died in a car accident, state media reported on Wednesday (December 30), the latest dramatic demise in the close circle of deputies to the country’s leader.

“Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), Kim Yang Gon, sadly died in an automobile accident at 6:15 a.m. on 29th December 2015 at the age of 73,” said a KRT news reader.

Kim Yang Gon, who was a secretary of the Workers’ Party and the head of its United Front Department, the unit that handles the North’s ties with South Korea, was Kim Jong Un’s “closest comrade, a solid revolutionary partner”, KRT added.

Kim was part of a high-level delegation that held talks with South Korea in August after the rival states exchanged artillery fire, raising tensions to one of the highest points in recent years.

Those talks produced an agreement that ended the standoff and allowed for the two sides to reopen dialogue to improve ties.

Kim had grown visibly closer to Kim Jong Un recently, appearing alongside the young leader at various farm and factory inspections and diplomatic meetings.

South Korea offered condolences over his death on Wednesday.

“We offer our condolences over the death of a secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and the head of the United Front Department, Kim Yang Gon, who worked together (with South Korea) to achieve a meaningful agreement at the high-level talks between North and South Korea held in August,” said South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman, Jeong Joon-hee, at a news briefing.

Kim Jong Un has dismissed a string of top aides since he took over when his father died suddenly in 2011.

In 2013, he purged and executed his uncle Jang Song Thaek, who was once considered the second most powerful man in the country, for “anti-revolutionary crimes.”

Impoverished North Korea’s road network is badly maintained and car ownership is rare, yet several high-level officials have died in traffic accidents over the years.

In 1976, an official said to rival the then-president Kim Il Sung died in a car crash. In 2003, a predecessor to Kim Yang Gon died in a traffic accident, and in 2010 top official Ri Je Gang also died in a car crash.

Tags:

North Korea Kim Jong-un

Want to send us a story? Submit on Wananchi Reporting on the Citizen Digital App or Send an email to wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke or Send an SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp on 0743570000

Leave a Comment

Comments

No comments yet.

latest stories