Anchor: North Korea’s Workers’ Party Secretary Kim Yang-gon, who was in charge of relations with South Korea, has died in a car crash. The South Korean government sent a letter expressing condolences, acknowledging that Kim played a key role during high-level inter-Korean talks in August. 
Our Kim In-kyung has more.
 
Report: North Korea’s Workers’ Party Secretary Kim Yang-gon died in a traffic accident on Tuesday at the age of 73.
 
The North’s Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday that Kim had long undertaken the work of the party with sincere loyalty and competence, calling his passing a big loss to the party and the people. 
 
Known as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's "diplomatic brain," Kim had been in charge of the North's South Korea policy as head of the United Front Department of the Workers' Party.
 
He was a principle player during the high-level inter-Korean talks in August following North Korea's land mines explosions in the Demilitarized Zone and also visited the South last year to attend the closing ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games. 
 
The South's Ministry of Unification sent a letter of condolences on Wednesday morning to the United Front Department.
 
In the letter signed under Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo's name, Seoul expressed its condolences over Kim’s death, acknowledging his contribution to drawing an inter-Korean agreement during the high-level talks in August. 
 
Meanwhile, the North's news agency said Kim will be given a state funeral at 8 a.m. Thursday with Kim Jong-un heading the funeral committee.  
 
The committee also includes officials who appear to have been reinstated after being out of favor with the young leader.
 
Top North Korean military official Choe Ryong-hae, who had been banished to a collective farm, was placed sixth in the funeral committee list between Workers' Party secretaries Kim Ki-nam and Choe Thae-bok.
 
Won Dong-yon, the deputy head of the United Front Department, was also included in the funeral committee. There had been previous talk that Won had been purged. 
Kim In-kyung, KBS World Radio News.