hankyoreh

North Korea's foreign minister, who was suffering from chronic disease, has died, the communist country's official media reported Wednesday. He was 78.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il sent a wreath of flowers to the altar set up for Paek Nam-sun, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The KCNA provided no details about the cause of his death or the date.

"(North Korean) Leader Kim Jong-il on Wednesday sent a wreath to the bier of late Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun, deputy to the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, expressing deep condolences over his death," the report said.

The DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Paek was born in Ryanggang Province in 1929, and graduated from Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang. He served as foreign minister for the communist country since 1998.

Using his alias Paek Nam-jun, Paek attended major inter-Korean meetings held in the 1990s and served at key posts for the North's Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland and other political organs.

Paek is reported to have received medical treatment for his disease in Kuala Lumpur in July 2006 when he led the North Korean delegation to the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). He was allegedly suffering from chronic kidney problems.

Seoul, Jan. 3 (Yonhap News)