KCNA melaporkan, pemimpin Korut Kim Jong-Il telah menyampaikan rasa duka cita yang mendalam atas meninggalnya Paek, 77 tahun.
Paek, 77, who had served as foreign minister since September 1998, had been ill. His last major appearance on the public stage was at an Asian foreign ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur in July.