North Korea’s defence minister has been dismissed as part of a reshuffle of the country’s military leadership, state media reported Sunday.
The “structural reorganization plans” were decided during a meeting on Saturday led by Kim Jong Un, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
No Kwang Chol was not only dismissed as defence minister but also demoted in the ruling party leadership to “first vice-director of the Munitions Industry Department,” KCNA said.
Kim Song Gi, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army, was named as the new defence minister.
Another senior official, defence advisor Pak Jong Chon, was given the position of vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission and named to the ruling party’s Political Bureau.
Several other promotions were also announced.
The leadership shuffle comes shortly after joint annual drills between South Korea and the United States wrapped up.
The drills, which are regularly denounced by Pyongyang as preparations for an invasion, were closely watched this year after US President Donald Trump ordered them to be shortened.
Trump criticized the drills as provocative towards the North and bashed Seoul for not supporting his war against Iran.
The US president also praised North Korean leader Kim, whom he met twice during his first term in office.
AFP
