By Shannon Tiezzi
The death of Kim Yang-gon will affect Pyongyang’s relations with its neighbors, China and South Korea.
One of North Korea’s top foreign policy hands, and a close adviser to leader Kim Jong-un, died in a car crash on Tuesday, according to state news agency KCNA. Kim Yang-gon, 73, was a secretary in the Korean Workers’ Party and the head of the party’s United Front Department, which is responsible for managing relations with South Korea.
Kim was described as the “closest comrade and a solid revolutionary partner” of Kim Jong-un. KCNA said the leader would preside over a state funeral for Kim Yang-gon on Thursday (interestingly, former regime number two, Choe Ryong-hae, will be on the funeral committee as well, apparently marking the end of his time in “reeducation”).
Kim, who was seen as a proponent of talks with Seoul, became North Korea’s top official on inter-Korean affairs under the late Kim Jong-il, after being named head of the United Front Department in 2007. He helped organize a rare summit meeting between Kim Jong-il and South Korea’s then-president, Roh Moo-hyun, that same year, according toYonhap News. More recently, Kim was one of two senior North Korean officials who attended the talks that defused inter-Korean tensions in August of this year. He also visited South Korea to attend the closing ceremony of the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
Inter-Korea relations saw a brief period of optimism in late 2015, with family reunions and high-level talks taking place. But there was little progress on more substantial steps, including a possible meeting between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Kim Jong-un. Now Kim Yang-gon’s death will likely put the brakes on whatever progress was being made. As Kim was one of the most experienced officials handling inter-Korean affairs for the North, South Korean experts believe Pyongyang may be hesitant to make further overtures in the short term.
Read the full story at The Diplomat