N. Korea says top official on S. Korea dies in car accident
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea's top official in charge of relations with South Korea has died in a traffic accident, the country's state media announced Wednesday, potentially dimming the prospect for ties between the rival countries.
While North Korea's road conditions are poor, the lack of detail helped feed speculation in South Korean media that Kim's death was suspicious, though South Korean officials declined to comment.
The two Koreas subsequently resumed their first reunions of families separated by war since early 2014, but hopes of improved ties subsided after this month's inter-Korean talks failed to reach any breakthrough.
A list of people forming Kim Yang Gon's funeral committee includes Choe Ryong Hae, another close associate of Kim Jong Un who South Korea's National Intelligence Service said last month was banished to a rural collective farm for re-education.