`N. Korea purges 30 officials involved in inter-Korean talks. July. 15, 2011 03:16. zeitung@donga.com.

North Korea has reportedly purged 30 officials who participated in inter-Korean talks or supervised bilateral dialogue via execution by firing squad or staged traffic accidents.

A South Korean government source said Thursday, Thirty people have been confirmed to have died or gone missing until recently. About 10 partners of inter-Korean talks with the South were executed by firing and about 20 others were said to have died in traffic accidents.

As of now, the North has no partners to talk with the South. There will likely be major change in inter-Korean relations.

Seoul said all Pyongyang officials who attended secret inter-Korean contacts are being purged, which clearly demonstrates that the internal organization of the North`s communist regime is extremely unstable and fragile.

The power struggle in Pyongyang is intensifying in the course of the power succession of heir apparent Kim Jong Un, and hardliners are accordingly gaining ground while those in support of dialogue are losing ground, analysts say.

In recognition of the need for inter-Korean dialogue, South Korea is trying to bring the North to the dialogue table but faces a stumbling block due to internal instability in the Stalinist country. Experts warn that Pyongyang could conduct larger-scale aggression in this year`s second half, such as a third nuclear test or missile firing.

Hong Joon-pyo, the chairman of the South`s ruling Grand National Party, told a forum hosted by the Kwanhun Club, a gathering of veteran journalists, at the Korea Press Center in Seoul Thursday, Pyeongchang County in Gangwon Province, the site of the 2018 Winter Olympics, is close to inter-Korean border. The South needs to make a drastic shift to resolve (stalled) inter-Korean relations.

"Basically, the South should improve inter-Korean relations but the situation in the North seems complicated.