N. Korean leader promotes loyal aide in military shakeup

N. Korean leader promotes loyal aide in military shakeup
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead, ADDS detail)
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il appointed his loyal
aide to the No. 2 post in the National Defense Commission on Friday, state media
said, another sign of the aging leader consolidating his circle.
O Kuk-ryol was named the commission's vice chairman, second only to Kim, said the
North's Korean Central News Agency.
North Korean media have said little about O, considered to be a combat-savvy
veteran who served as the North's air force commander and chief of the
operational department of the ruling Workers' Party.
Baek Seung-joo, a Seoul-based analyst, said O helped Kim Jong-il win support from
the military in the early 1980s after he was tapped as successor of his father
and North Korean founder Kim Il-sung.
"O is a senior military figure whom Kim Jong-il trusts," Baek said.
O, 78, replaces Kim Yong-chun, who was recently promoted as minister of the
People's Armed Forces, the counterpart of South Korea's Defense Ministry.
In a more extensive shakeup earlier this month, Kim Jong-il appointed his close
aides as new defense minister and another as chief of General Staff amid growing
rumors of a possible succession in Pyongyang.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)