North Korea’s top three military officials appear to have been replaced, according to reports, potentially paving the way for a denuclearization deal at the Singapore…
North Korea’s top three military officials appear to have been replaced, according to reports, potentially paving the way for a denuclearization deal at the Singapore summit next week.
The three military leaders were replaced with younger and more moderate figures, according to multiple reports, including Reuters and South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
Analysts described it as a move toward opening the reclusive communist regime in preparation for the historic June 12 summit between President Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong-un.
The shake up included the replacement of defense chief Pak Yong-sik by Ministry of People’s Armed Forces No Kwang-chol; chief of general staff Ri Myong-su by his deputy, Ri Yong-gil, according to the reports.
Earlier, Kim Jong-gak, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army, was replaced with Army Gen. Kim Su-gil, which was confirmed last month by North Korean state media.
The shake-up could allow Mr. Kim and the ruling party to tighten control over the Korean People’s Army (KPA) at a critical time of international engagement and domestic development.
“If Kim Jong Un is set on making peace with the U. S. and South Korea and dealing away at least part of the nuclear program, he will have to put the KPA’s influence in a box and keep it there,” Ken Gause, director of the International Affairs Group at CNA, a nonprofit research and analysis organization, told Reuters.
“This reshuffle has brought to the fore the officers who can do just that. They are loyal to Kim Jong Un and no one else,” he said.
