Kim Yang- a top aide to the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, perished on Tuesday in an automobile crash, the state news agency reported on Wednesday, in the most recent episode involving the leader’s deputies.
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KCNA hailed him as “the dearest and the most trustworthy comrade-in-arms” of current leader Kim Jong-Un, who will head a state funeral for the official on Thursday.
John Nilsson-Wright says these facts not only suggest it was a genuine auto accident, but also shows Kim Jong-un’s whole leadership style is evolving.
North Korea’s road network is badly maintained and few people in the country own cars. Jeong, the ministry spokesman, said it was the first time Pyongyang had officially identified a traffic accident as the cause of death for one of its senior officials.
Yet a few events could bring about a turnaround in the mood, including an envisioned visit by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the communist state and one-on-one talks with leader Kim Jong-un. As a secretary of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party and director of the party’s United Front Department, he led the August 25 agreement that salvaged the two Koreas from the brink of a military clash.
He had also been among the North’s delegation that sprung a surprise by attending last year’s Asian Games closing ceremony in South Korea.
Regardless of the circumstances of Kim Yang Gon’s death, his absence could disrupt the dialogue between Pyongyang and Seoul, said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher with the Sejong Institute, a South Korean think tank.
Kim Yang Gon, 73, played a major role in negotiations with South Korea, including during August talks that eased inflamed tensions.
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 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 has previously offered similar condolences when senior North Korean officials died.
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“He could hardly repress his bitter grief for a long while, his hands put on the cold body of the revolutionary comrade”, the official news agency KCNA said.
