Global Security Newswire

A relatively obscure North Korean battlefield commander has been appointed to lead the People's Armed Forces Ministry, the Yonhap News Agency reported on Monday.

The 50-something Gen. Jang Jong Nam replaces the hawkish Gen. Kim Kyok Sik, 75, who only held his post for roughly seven months. Jang's new title was mentioned by official regime media in coverage of a cultural event attended by North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un.

"Our military is attentively tracing the latest trend of the North Korean military, including the replacement of high military ranks," South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said to reporters. "It needs more analysis to conclude whether (North Korea) has replaced hard-liners, but it does seem that military commanders have become really younger."

North Korea watchers believe Kim Jong Un is reshuffling top-level regime jobs in order to strengthen his hold on power, the New York Times reported.

Kim Kyok Sik is thought to have directed the two 2010 attacks on a South Korean warship and island that left a total of 50 people dead.

The minister is not the No.1 military position in the North. The director of the military's General Political Department and the leader of the general staff of the Korean People's Army are generally thought to be more powerful defense positions, according to the Times.

The United States and South Korea on Monday began a two-day bilateral maritime exercise that involves the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, over the heated objection of Pyongyang, Agence France-Presse reported. North Korea called the drill a "grave military provocation" that would worsen regional tensions.

U.S. special envoy for North Korea policy Glyn Davies on Monday in South Korea applauded the Chinese government's recent announcement that it would sever relations with a North Korean bank seen as a principal conduit for funding for Pyongyang's WMD programs, Yonhap reported.