Thursday, October 10, 2013

Another Military Purge In North Korea

Gen. Kim Kyok Sik (R) greets Gen. Leopoldo Cintra Frías, Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces in Havana on 30 June 2013 (Photo: FAR/PRLNA).

North Korean Leader Tightens Grip with Removal of Top General -- New York Times

SEOUL — North Korea’s state media on Thursday confirmed the removal of a hard-line general as its military chief, the latest sign of a military overhaul in which the country’s supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, has replaced nearly half of his country’s top officials in the past two years, according to South Korean officials.

The firing of Gen. Kim Kyok-sik and the rise of Gen. Ri Yong-gil to replace him as head of the general staff of the North’s Korean People’s Army was the latest in a series of high-profile reshuffles that Kim Jong-un has engineered to consolidate his grip on the North’s top elites.

Since taking power upon the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in late 2011, Kim Jong-un has replaced 44 percent of North Korea’s 218 top military, party and government officials, the South’s Ministry of Unification said in a report. He engineered this and other reshuffles to retire or sideline the old generals from his father’s days and promote a new set of aides who will owe their loyalty directly to him.

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More News On Leadership Changes In North Korea

North Korea Replaces Hard-Line Military Chief -- ABC News/AP
N. Korea Replaces Hawkish Army Chief -- Voice of America
North Korea’s Kim Replaces Head of Armed Forces for Third Time -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Kim removes many key figures to cement leadership: S.Korea -- AFP
North Korean political reshuffle claims army chief of staff -- UPI

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