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North Korea has dismissed its defence minister, No Kwang Chol, as part of a broader reshuffle of the country’s military leadership, state media reported on Sunday.
The changes were approved during a meeting led by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), which described the move as part of “structural reorganization plans.”
No Kwang Chol has lost his position as defence minister and has also been demoted within the ruling Workers’ Party. KCNA said he has been appointed “first vice-director of the Munitions Industry Department,” a role focused on the country’s weapons production sector.
Kim Song Gi, who previously headed the General Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army, has been appointed the new defence minister.
The reshuffle has also elevated another senior military figure. Defence advisor Pak Jong Chon has been named vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission and appointed to the ruling party’s Political Bureau. Several other military officials also received promotions.
The leadership changes come as North Korea continues to place a strong emphasis on the development of advanced weapons technology.
In a separate report, KCNA said Kim Jong Un had honoured scientists, researchers and officials involved in defence technology at a ceremony on Saturday. The recipients were credited with helping solve “scientific and technological problems of epochal significance” in developing new combat weapon systems.
KCNA did not identify the weapons involved but said North Korea’s weapons research centre had recently developed technologies that could strengthen the country’s ability to fight a war. The agency described the advances as evidence of “the course of unique development of the country’s military and technological capabilities.”
The latest reshuffle follows Kim’s recent involvement in weapons testing. In late June, he supervised tests of a new extended-range multiple rocket launcher and artillery system.
The leadership changes also come shortly after annual military exercises involving the United States and South Korea concluded. Pyongyang routinely condemns the drills as preparations for an invasion.
The exercises received additional attention this year after US President Donald Trump ordered them to be shortened and criticised them as provocative towards North Korea. Trump has also spoken positively about Kim, whom he met twice during his first term, while signalling interest in another meeting.
North Korea, however, has shown little willingness to respond to the overtures, continuing its missile launches and criticism of US-South Korean military cooperation.
Pyongyang has also condemned Washington’s approval of arms sales to South Korea and plans to support programmes documenting human rights abuses in North Korea.
Meanwhile, military cooperation between the United States, South Korea and Japan is expected to continue. The three countries are scheduled to hold their Freedom Edge exercises from September 7 to 11 in international waters east and south of South Korea’s Jeju Island.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff described the exercise as “a defensive drill” designed to respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and safeguard regional peace and stability.
