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.
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console.log("catid body is "+catID);if(catID==120){document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://player.anyclip.com/anyclip-widget/lre-widget/prod/v1/src/lre.js'; script.setAttribute('pubname','jpostcom'); script.setAttribute('widgetname','0011r00001lcD1i_12258'); document.getElementsByClassName('divAnyClip')[0].appendChild(script);}else if(catID!=69 && catID!=2){ document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none"; var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://static.vidazoo.com/basev/vwpt.js'; script.setAttribute('data-widget-id','60fd6becf6393400049e6535'); document.getElementsByClassName('divVidazoo')[0].appendChild(script); }"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.