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China-Japan-Koreas
Kim Jong Un in rare show of grief over aide's death
2016-01-01
SEOUL North Korean leader Fat Bastard Kim Jong Un has expressed deep sorrow over the death of a top aide, displaying unusual intimacy towards his "close comrade-in-arms whom nobody can replace".

Mr Kim Yang Gon, a top party official and lover key confidant to Mr Kim Jong Un, and who oversaw relations with the South, died in what was made up to look like a traffic accident on Tuesday, official media said. A state funeral was held yesterday. Analysts have said that foul play in the death of Mr Kim Yang Gon could not be ruled out, citing possible jealousy among political rivals.

But the tone used in official news reports yesterday was in stark contrast to those announcing past political purges, with Mr Kim Yang Gon described in glowing terms.
All the better to hide what was done...
North Korea's state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun carried a front page picture showing a grieving Pudgy Mr Kim Jong Un touching the face of his aide, whose remains were laid on a bier decorated with flowers.

"He could hardly repress his bitter grief for a long while, his hands on the cold body of the revolutionary comrade," the official news agency KCNA said.

"He said Mr Kim Yang Gon was his faithful lover helper and close comrade-in-arms whom nobody can replace," it added.

Other photos showed the corpulent Mr Kim, accompanied by party and military officials, bowing deeply in front of the bier during their visit on Wednesday.

The North did not reveal details about the accident said to have killed Mr Kim Yang Gon, but a disproportionately high rate of fatal crashes among the North's powerful elite has been attributed to reckless driving, often under the influence of alcohol.
Nice cover for what was really done...
Their vehicles sport distinctive plate numbers allowing them to flout traffic laws, while they often attend inner-circle orgies feasts or parties without chauffeurs, according to defectors.

Meagre infrastructure, including dark, potholed streets in the suburbs where such exclusive parties take place, are also to blame, the South Korean daily Joongang Ilbo said.

Mr Kim Yang Gon's predecessor, Mr Kim Yong Sun, who helped arrange the first North-South summit in 2000, also died in what was described as a traffic accident in 2003.

Mr Ri Je Gang, another top party official, also reportedly died in a car crash in 2010, at a time when he was rumoured to be involved in a power struggle with Mr Jang. Mr Jang himself survived a car accident in 2006 before being executed.
Posted by:Fred

#4  "close comrade-in-arms whom nobody can replace"

Not thinking anyone would be jumping at that chance, either.
Posted by: Mullah Richard   2016-01-01 14:05  

#3  Probably crashed on the way to an antiaircraft gun execution. In this way he saved face (literally and figuratively).
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2016-01-01 13:24  

#2  The next 3 may point to a cause.
Posted by: Skidmark   2016-01-01 10:13  

#1  Pudgy was probably upset that he didn't get a chance to purge him before he was killed.
Posted by: gorb   2016-01-01 03:02  

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