Kim Yang-gon
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Kim Yang-gon 김양건 | |
|---|---|
김양건 | |
 Kim Yang-gon at Closing Ceremony of Incheon Asian Games 2014 | |
| Born | 24 April 1942 |
| Died | 29 December 2015 (aged 73) |
| Cause of death | Road accident |
Kim Yang-gon (24 April 1942 – 29 December 2015) was a North Korean politician and a senior official of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.
Kim Yang-gon started his political career as a vice-director of the party's International Liaison Department in 1986, and during this time he also oversaw relations with Japan as head of the DPRK-Japan Friendship Association. He was a recipient of the top Order of Kim Il-sung in 1995. He was promoted to director in 1997 and visited China multiple times during his tenure. In 2005 he also received a position as "councilor" to the National Defence Commission.
Several months after the death of Rim Tong-ok, Kim Yang-gon, considered a confidant to Kim Jong-il, was appointed to replace him as director of the United Front Department of the Workers' Party in March 2007. His first assignment as head of relations with South Korea was a visit to Seoul in November to discuss reapproachment measures with Unification Minister Lee Jae-jeong. At the Party Conference held in September 2010, Kim was also appointed secretary for united front and South Korea policies of the Secretariat and alternate member of the Politburo.
Kim Yang-gon kept his position under Kim Jong-un, and he was awarded the newly created Order of Kim Jong-il in July 2012. He visited South Korea again in October 2014 to attend the closing ceremony of the 2014 Asian Games with Hwang Pyong-so and Choe Ryong-hae, and in late August 2015 to negotiate a deal to halt military provocations around the Demilitarized Zone.
In December 2015, North Korea's news agency reported that Kim Yang-Gon died in a car accident.[1][2] He was lying in state in Sojang Club in Pyongyang and honored in a state funeral.