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North Korea's No. 2 man on South Korea affairs has disappeared, report says

Pyongyang could have purged Won and other North Korean bureaucrats after former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak disclosed sensitive information on North-South relations.

By Elizabeth Shim
Won Dong Yon, center, crossing into South Korea through Panmunjom on Feb. 12, 2014. Won was last seen in public on Dec. 16 and may have been purged, according to South Korea reports. File Photo by Yonhap
Won Dong Yon, center, crossing into South Korea through Panmunjom on Feb. 12, 2014. Won was last seen in public on Dec. 16 and may have been purged, according to South Korea reports. File Photo by Yonhap

SEOUL, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- An influential North Korean politician in charge of South Korea affairs has been absent from public service since late 2014 and Seoul's officials have not ruled out the possibility of a purge.

Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee said Wednesday the details of Won Dong Yon's purge could not be made public but neither did Seoul rule out the possibility, South Korean outlet Newsis reported.

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Won frequently met with South Korean officials as the vice chairman of North Korea's Asia Pacific Peace Commission and played a key role as the head of Pyongyang's delegation to working-level talks between the North and South, Yonhap reported.

Won is the North's No. 2 man on South Korea affairs after Kim Yang Gon, the director of the United Front Department of the Korean Workers' Party. Won is the deputy head of the United Front – Pyongyang's bureau for South Korea affairs.

Won was last seen on Dec. 16 in Kaesong, North Korea, when he met with South Korean opposition party politician Cho Geon-sik and an executive from South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Asan.

Yonhap reported Pyongyang could have purged Won and other North Korean bureaucrats after former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak disclosed sensitive information on North-South relations in his memoir, published in February.

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Newsis reported Seoul officials are speculating whether Won was ordered to receive ideological re-education at a farm near Pyongyang.

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