Kim Yong Ju, the younger brother of North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, has died, according to state media.
Kim Yong Yu was regarded as being the country's second most powerful figure before his nephew Kim Jong Il became ruler in 1994.
North Korean state media has not reported exactly when he died.
According to Seoul's Unification Ministry, he was born in 1920, meaning
he was likely to be either 100 or 101 at the time of his death.
Kim
Jong Un, the grandson of Kim Il Sung, expressed "deep condolences" over
the death and sent a condolence wreath, the official Korean Central
News Agency reported.
The agency's report says: "Kim Yong Ju
devotedly struggled to implement the (Workers') Party's lines and
policies and made a contribution to accelerating socialist construction
and developing the Korean-style state social system, while working at
important posts of the party and the state for many years."
Three generations of the Kim family have ruled North Korea since Kim
Il Sung established the country in 1948. When Kim Il Sung died in 1994,
his eldest son, Kim Jong Il, inherited power.
Kim Jong Un is the third and youngest son of Kim Jong Il and assumed power upon his father's death in 2011.
During Kim Il Sung's rule, many outside experts viewed Kim Yong Ju as
the North's second most powerful official or even his brother's heir
apparent.
He held a slew of top posts such as director of the organisation and
guidance department and member of the Politburo, both at the ruling
Workers' Party.
In 1972, he represented North Korea in signing a landmark peace
accord with South Korea, the rivals' first major joint communique on
unification.
Kim Yong Ju gradually faded from the political scene
after Kim Jong Il took over his Workers' Party department director post
in 1973, a move seen by outsiders as a key step in the path to
succeeding Kim Il Sung.
Kim Jong Il's position as successor was made public at a party congress in 1980.
After nearly two decades of seclusion, Kim Yong Ju was made a vice president and regained his Politburo membership in 1993.
The
appointment came after Kim Jong Il had secured his status as the next
leader, and experts said Kim Yong Ju did not wield substantial power in
key state affairs.
He later served as honorary vice-chairman of the standing committee
of the Supreme People's Assembly, the North's rubberstamp parliament,
and as a delegate to the Assembly.
Before Wednesday's report on
his death, his last known public activity was in 2015, when state TV
showed him bowing before the portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il
after casting a ballot during local elections.
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