North Korea has confirmed replacing the Army Chief of the General Staff Kim Kyok-Sik to tighten leader Kim Jong-Un's grip over the military.
According to the Nation, Army Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army Kim Kyok-Sik has been replaced by Ri Yong-Gil.
Ri had been pronounced as a three-star general and head of the army's general staff operations department, but he made public appearances in late August with the crest of a four-star general, the report added.
According to the report, Ri was identified as Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, while accompanying Kim on a visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on Wednesday.
Kim was seen as a hardliner, who reportedly ordered the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in November 2010, when he commanded the North's Fourth Army Corps.