North Korea says a former secretary of its Workers' Party in charge of international relations, Kim Yong Il, has died at the age of 76.

The ruling party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported his death in its Monday edition. The paper said the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, sent flowers to express his condolences.

Kim Yong Il was chief delegate to the six-party talks that started in 2003 to address North Korea's nuclear program.

He also long played a role in relations with Japan. When the Japan-North Korea summit was held in 2002 and 2004, Kim Yong Il greeted Japan's then-Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro at the airport in Pyongyang. He was vice foreign minister in charge of Asia at the time.

During the 2002 summit, North Korea admitted to and apologized for the abduction of Japanese nationals by the country's agents.

Kim Yong Il continued to engage in Japan-North Korea relations for many years after that.

From 2013 to 2014, he had talks with Iijima Isao, a former top aide to Koizumi, and met with late Japanese lawmaker and professional wrestler Antonio Inoki during their visits to North Korea.

Kim Yong Il was said to be one of Kim Jong Un's close aides, but he had withdrawn from the public stage in recent years.

The party paper stressed that Kim Yong Il contributed to implementing North Korea's foreign policy.