North Korean top official dies in traffic accident

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"111265417"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"2">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><p>A top official in North Korea&comma; who was in charge of relations with South Korea&comma; has died in a traffic accident&comma; according to state media in the country&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Kim Yang Gon&comma; 73&comma; was head of the United Front Department at the ruling Workers’ Party&comma; the Korean Central News Agency reported&period; It said a state funeral will be held on Thursday&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>While North Korea’s road conditions are poor&comma; the lack of detail helped feed speculation in South Korean media that his death was suspicious&comma; though South Korean officials declined to comment&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Similar speculation arose in past years following reported traffic deaths of high-level North Korean officials&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Before his death&comma; there had been no signs that Kim was engaged in any major factional feuding with other officials&period; He was among officials who most frequently accompanied Kim Jong Un during his inspection visits to army units and factories&comma; a strong indication that he was one of the leader’s trusted aides&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The reports described him as the leader’s &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;closest comrade-in-arms and steadfast revolutionary comrade” who had made &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;dedicated” efforts to push for unification with South Korea&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Analysts in Seoul said strained ties between the rival Koreas could continue following the unexpected death of Kim&comma; who had long handled relations with South Korea&period; The KCNA did not say who would replace him&period; Earlier this month&comma; the rival Koreas ended rare high-level talks without any agreement&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I worry that we cannot avoid long suspension of a dialogue between South and North Korea” following Kim’s death&comma; said Cheong Seong-chang&comma; at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In August&comma; Kim attended marathon talks at the Korean border that defused a military stand-off triggered by land mine explosions blamed on Pyongyang that maimed two South Korean soldiers&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The two Koreas subsequently resumed their first reunions of families separated by war since early 2014&comma; but hopes of improved ties subsided after this month’s inter-Korean talks failed to reach any breakthrough&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>South Korea’s Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo sent condolences&period; South Korea has previously offered similar condolences when senior North Korean officials died&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Kim visited South Korea in 2009 to pay his respects to late president Kim Dae-jung&comma; who held the first inter-Korean summit with Kim Jong Il in 2000&period; He was believed to have played a key role in arranging a second summit in 2007&period; Most rapprochement agreements signed after the two summit talks remain stalled or have never been implemented after animosities flared again between the rivals&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Korean Peninsula remains in a technical state of war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice&comma; not a peace treaty&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div style&equals;"padding-bottom&colon;15px&semi;" class&equals;"wordads-tag" data-slot-type&equals;"belowpost">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div id&equals;"atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68ed11dc74023">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<script type&equals;"text&sol;javascript">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;getAdSnippetCallback &equals; 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