North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency announced Sunday that Jo Myong-rok, a top North Korean military official, has died of chronic heart disease Saturday morning at the age of 82.

KCNA announced Jo's death in an obituary jointly signed by North Korea’s Central Committee of the Workers’ Party, the Central Military Commission, and the National Defense Commission.

The report said a funeral committee headed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and composed of some 170 senior officials including his heir-apparent Kim Jong-un was organized.

Jo, who fought in the Korean War as a pilot, rose to first vice-chairman of North Korea's National Defense Commission in 1998, making him the second most powerful man in North Korea.