Kim Yong Chol, director of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, has been appointed as the replacement for Kim Yang Kon, the former secretary for inter-Korean affairs who reportedly died of a car accident at the end of last year, Tongil News reported.

On Wednesday, Tongil News wrote that it had received confirmation from their source living in China, who overheard a North Korean official clearly naming Kim Yong Chol as the “secretary.”

On Monday, the Yeouido Research Institute, the ruling Saenuri Party’s think-tank, said that Kim Yong Chol had been nominated to replace Kim Yang Kon. Many South Korean media, including the