The news outlet offered no further details about the cause of death, but said the North Korean leader would lead an 80-member state funeral for Kim on Thursday.
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Mr Cheong said Mr Kim Jong Un might have brought Mr Won back to replace Mr Kim Yang Gon, who state media described as the leader’s “most trustworthy” aide.
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The 73-year-old aide had helped to ease tensions between the two Koreas in August after two South Korean soldiers were injured in artillery fire and a landmine explosion supposedly initiated by North Korea.
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Sixty-seven cartridges of various caliber were found at the site. A manhunt is now underway for the attackers who fled the scene.
Pyongyang chose to hold a state funeral for the deceased party secretary, according to the KCNA.
Along with Chang Song-thaek, the executed uncle of the North Korean leader, Kim had led affairs regarding China as well.
Yonhap said the partying habits of North Korean elites were also to blame for their disproportionately high rate of fatal traffic accidents, often driving home drunk after exclusive parties.
The deaths of several North Korean officials have been put down to crashes in recent years.
The fatal accident occurred just four months after Kim was sent to the border village of Panmunjom with Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong-so to negotiate a deal with South Korea’s national security director, Kim Kwan-jin, and Hong, the unification minister. At that time, analysts say, there would have been nearly no traffic in a city that has very few cars on its roads to begin with.
Relations between North and South could be conducted in a more “rigid” manner, the South Korean analyst said, adding that even though Choe could have been reinstated, Kim Yang Gon’s potential replacements do not have the depth and breadth of his experience. Kim’s predecessor, Kim Yong Sun, reportedly died in a traffic accident in 2003. The United Front Department is the unit that handles the North’s ties with South Korea. There’s been no such summit since Kim Jong Un came to power after the death of his father.
KCNA characterized Kim as a “loyal warrior” and one of the “closest comrades and trustworthiest revolutionary comrades” of Kim Jong Un.
Three tops officials were killed in vehicle crashes during the reign of Kim Jong-Il.
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“North Korea has a long track record of suspicious deaths around high-level officials”, North Korea expert Andrei Lankov told Reuters.
