Yon Hyong-muk, a close confidant of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, died on Saturday of an incurable disease at the age of 73.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Sunday the death of the vice chairman of the North’s powerful National Defense Commission.

Yon had reportedly been suffering from pancreatic cancer and underwent surgery in Russia in 2004.

In an obituary, the National Defense Commission called the official’s death "a big loss to the North's Workers Party and the people," saying that the legacy of Yon’s achievements would last forever.

Born in Kyongwon County, North Hamkyong Province in 1931, Yon had served as deputy head of the central committee of the Workers' Party, deputy prime minister, prime minister and vice chairman of the National Defense Commission.

In particular, Yon worked as the chief negotiator for the North during the high level inter-Korean talks in the early 1990s, at a time when the two Koreas produced the South-North Basic Agreement on various inter-Korean rapprochement measures.

The North Korean news agency said that pallbearers would carry out the coffin for burial in an early morning ceremony on Monday.