Secretary of North Korean Workers’ Party Kim Yang Gon Dies At 73
North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un offers his "deepest" condolences for the death of the country's secretary of ruling Workers' Party Kim Yang Gon who was responsible for the North's relations with South Korea, reported Korea Times on Thursday.
Kim reportedly died in a car crash on Tuesday at the age of 73 just weeks after the inter-Korean talks that ended in December without any progress on both countries' endeavor to improve ties following the heightened military tension that resulted from the land mine blast on the demilitarized zone that injured two of South Korea's soldiers.
North Korea's leader could not "suppress his inconsolable grief" for the late Workers' Party's secretary whom he described as his "dearest and most trustworthy comrade-in-arms."
The Korean Central News Agency of North Korea also acknowledged Kim for being "loyal to the party and the revolution with his firm belief in the justice of what he had done" in their report on Thursday.
According to Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday, a state funeral will be held on Thursday for Kim, which will be headed by North's leader
The North reportedly listed members for the funeral committee, which included senior secretary of the ruling party and key aide to Kim Jong Un, Choe Ryong Hae.
"He could hardly repress his bitter grief for a long while, his hnds put on the cold body of the revolutionary comrade," the KCNA described the secretary. "Kim Yang Gon was his faithful helper and close comrade-in-arms whom nobody can replace."
Foul play has been considered by analysts in the death of Kim, pointing out the possibility of jealousy among his rivals in the political circle. North Korea did not release official details on the accident, where road network is not properly maintained and car ownership is not common. However, many officials have reportedly died in car accidents due to alcohol influence in the past years.
"North Korea has a long track record of suspicious deaths around high-level officials," said North Korea expert Andrei Lankov. "Most die either because they are machine-gunned, or they die in car crashes. There are almost no cars and security for high-officials travelling in cars is extremely tight. Given that, one is bound to be skeptical about any such report coming from North Korea."
