N Korean official in charge of ties with South dies: Pyongyang

Leader Kim has earned a reputation for ruthlessness after sacking previous high-ranking officials and having his uncle executed.

SEOUL – South Korea’s financial watchdog said Wednesday it has picked 19 large companies to be placed under debt restructuring this year as part of efforts to prevent a sudden default in major industries.

Kim Yong Sun was the only senior North Korean official who sat in at the historic summit between Kim Jong Il and then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in 2000.

The 73-year-old was head of relations between North and South Korea and a secretary of the Workers’ Party.

Kim Yang Gon’s death has prompted concern over future relations between the Koreas.

North Korea announced a 69-member funeral committee to be led by Kim Jong-un.

He served three generations of the Kim dynasty, which has ruled the North since its founding in 1948 with an iron fist and brooks no dissent.

Choe, until recently an integral element of Kim Jong-un’s inner circle, was sent into a farm in November to get “ground-breaking instruction” for mishandling a fresh hydroelectric power plant job, in accordance with South Korean media.

Kim’s death was a “huge loss” for the party and the DPRK people, as Kim has shown “noble loyalty and strong ability” in devoting himself to the party’s undertakings, it added.

The South Korean government is likely to keep an eye on the potential impact Kim’s absence will have on the direction of Pyongyang’s inter-Korean policy.

With Seoul gearing up for a general election and Washington for a presidential vote, North Korea may well be put on the back burner, while China and Russian Federation appear to be opting to maintain the respectively lukewarm bilateral ties with Pyongyang.

The talks produced an agreement that ended the standoff, and for the two sides, still technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, to reopen dialogue to improve ties.

Kim Yang Gon died early that morning, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said. KCNA did not say who would replace him.

The North Korean regime is famous for its secrecy and isolation, making it unlikely it will give a full account of what happened to Kim Yang Gon.

Choe Ryong Hae, North Korea’s Workers’ Party secretary, was included in a roster of top official names, made public during a North Korea announcement for the former Kim’s state funeral committee, Jiji Press reported.