North Korea Purges The Military. Moderate Defense Minister Named

A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

Reuters: North Korea's top three military officials replaced, U.S. official says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea’s top three military officials have been removed from their posts, a senior U.S. official said on Sunday, as U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un prepare to meet on June 12 in Singapore.

The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was commenting on a report by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency that all three of the North’s top military officials were believed to have been replaced.

Trump on Friday revived the summit after canceling it a week earlier. The United States is seeking a negotiated end to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

U.S. officials believe there was some dissension in the military about Kim’s approaches to South Korea and the United States.

The U.S. official did not identify the three military officials. Yonhap identified them as defense chief Pak Yong Sik; Ri Myong Su, chief of the Korean People’s Army’s (KPA) general staff; and Kim Jong Gak, director of the KPA’s General Political Bureau.

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Update #1: Source: N. Korea brings moderate on board as defense minister：The Asahi Shimbun -- Asahi Shimbun
Update #2: NK, US seen getting hardliners out of the way -- Korea Herald

WNU Editor: This is big news. With the Singapore summit only 9 days away, it looks like North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is cleaning house.