North Korea is said to have appointed a new leader for the top unification organ of its ruling Workers’ Party in charge of inter-Korean relations.

Sources said that Kim Yang-gon, a close confidant of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was appointed to head the unification department of the Workers' Party in mid-March.

The 69-year-old diplomat had been assigned the international affairs portfolio for the Workers’ Party in 1997 and has served on the National Defense Commission since 2005.

However, it is unclear whether he will concurrently chair the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, another key body that handles South Korean affairs.