Kim Yang Gon, a high-ranking North Korean official tasked with handling the fractious relationship with South Korea, has died in an automobile accident

Kim Yang Gon, a high-ranking North Korean official tasked with handling the fractious relationship with South Korea, has died in an automobile accident, state media reported.

He's the latest in a series of top aides to young North Korean leader Kim Jong Un who are reported to have died in recent years.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) provided no further details Wednesday on the death of Kim Yang Gon, 73, who was a veteran of negotiations with South Korea since the era of former leader Kim Jong Il.

Kim Yang Gon played a prominent role in talks to defuse tensions between the two sides after an exchange of artillery fire in August. He was the head of the United Front Department, the main agency responsible for dealings with South Korea.

"He was surely trusted by the Kim family regime," said Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. "The one who appointed him head of the United Front Department was Kim Jong Il, the father of the current leader. And what we knew was that he was really close to young Kim Jong Un."