Seoul: North Korea has replaced its defense minister in a reshuffle of senior military leadership, state media reported Sunday. Kim Song-gi, director of the General Political Bureau of the North's Korean People's Army, was appointed as the country's new defense minister, replacing No Kwang-chol, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). According to Yonhap News Agency, No Kwang-chol was removed as defense minister and from the Party's central leadership and appointed first vice-director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee. The reshuffle was decided at the second meeting of the ninth WPK Central Military Commission held the previous day, which was guided by leader Kim Jong-un, the report said. In the latest reshuffle, veteran military official Pak Jong-chon was appointed vice-chairman of the WPK Central Military Commission after being re-elected as a member of the Party's Central Committee and Politburo. Pak returned to the forefront o f the North's military leadership after stepping down from the Politburo and Party secretary posts and being dropped from the Central Military Commission's vice chairmanship in February. His removal at the time sparked speculation that he was stepping back from the front lines due to his age. The vice chairmanship is a key post overseeing the North's military policies. Leader Kim Jong-un chairs the commission. The meeting "discussed a series of structural reorganization plans for the improvement and development of the future overall defense affairs," the KCNA said. In a separate dispatch, KCNA reported that Kim met with scientists, researchers, and officials from major defense research institutions and awarded them state commendations for their contributions to developing new combat weapon systems and improving their performance. Calling them "the greatest patriots and heroes," Kim highly appreciated "the recent exclusive innovative military sci-tech achievements ... as a great revolution that opened up a s ure prospect for radically improving the modernity of our army's combat weapon systems." The leader expressed expectation that the science researchers "would bolster up the arms of the self-defensive power in a more overwhelming and stronger manner," the report said.
