N. Korea shakes up military: report

SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il named new chiefs for
the communist nation's military on Wednesday, the North's news agency said, in an
unexpected military shakeup ahead of parliamentary elections next month.
"Vice Marshal of the Korean People's Army Kim Yong-chun was appointed as minister
of the People's Armed Forces of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK," the
Korean Central News Agency said of the reshuffle issued in the name of the North
Korean leader.
Korean People's Army General Ri Yong-ho was promoted as chief of the KPA General
Staff, the report said.
The brief report did not say who the officials were or why the reshuffle was
conducted.
North Korea usually shakes up its military and Cabinet after parliamentary
elections. A new assembly reappoints leader Kim as chairman of the National
Defence Commission, the backbone of the North's 1.1 million-strong army.
Pyongyang bypassed the parliamentary vote last August amid rumors that Kim had a
stroke. In January, North Korea set the long-overdue vote for March 8.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)