SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has named a hardline general who is believed to have masterminded an attack on South Korea to the post of Armed Forces Minister as part of a broad reshuffle of the military, South Korean officials said on Thursday.
Kim Kyok-sik's appointment as the Minister of People's Armed Forces marks a return to the top ranks of one of the world's biggest armies by a man who had previously been pushed aside by a rival who has since been purged.
"The reshuffle is part of loyalty test by First Chairman Kim Jong-un," a South Korean government official said.
A second South Korean official confirmed that Seoul believed a new minister had been appointed. There was no official announcement by Pyongyang and it was impossible to verify the reports.