North Korea says top official Kim Yang Gon killed in car accident

North Korea's top official in charge of relations with South Korea died Tuesday in a car accident, and analysts believe his death could further set back ties between the two countries.

A state funeral will be held for Kim Yang Gon, 73, on Thursday, the Korean Central News Agency reports. The head of the Workers' Party's United Front Department, Kim had been in his position for a long time, and earlier in December, met with a South Korean counterpart for high-level talks. Following his death, "I worry that we cannot avoid long suspension of a dialogue between South and North Korea," Cheong Seong-chang of South Korea's Sejong Institute told The Associated Press.

While road conditions in North Korea are not the best, reports of officials dying in car crashes are often met with skepticism by those who believe the officials were actually assassinated by the state. Kim was often spotted accompanying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to factories and army units, and was called his "closest comrade-in-arms and steadfast revolutionary comrade" by state media. Prior to his death, AP says, there were no signs of Kim Yang Gon having any problems with other officials.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.