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| In Latest Government Shuffle, North Korean Leader Dismisses No. 2 Military Official | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, has removed an official who was widely considered No. 2 in his government from a top military post, according to a report on Friday in the country’s state-run news media. | |
| For the past two years, the official, Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, had been head of the General Political Bureau of the North Korean People’s Army, the second most powerful military post. Mr. Kim is the supreme commander. | For the past two years, the official, Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, had been head of the General Political Bureau of the North Korean People’s Army, the second most powerful military post. Mr. Kim is the supreme commander. |
| Mr. Choe was widely believed to have also been the second-most influential person in the government, a position he apparently cemented after Jang Song-thaek, Mr. Kim’s uncle and the previous presumed No. 2, was executed in December on charges of plotting to unseat his nephew. | Mr. Choe was widely believed to have also been the second-most influential person in the government, a position he apparently cemented after Jang Song-thaek, Mr. Kim’s uncle and the previous presumed No. 2, was executed in December on charges of plotting to unseat his nephew. |
| On Friday, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency disclosed Mr. Choe’s dismissal when it identified Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong-so as the military’s new top political officer while reporting on Mr. Hwang’s visit to a textile workers’ dormitory the previous day. | On Friday, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency disclosed Mr. Choe’s dismissal when it identified Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong-so as the military’s new top political officer while reporting on Mr. Hwang’s visit to a textile workers’ dormitory the previous day. |
| It remained unclear whether Mr. Choe was also removed from the other powerful posts he had gained under Mr. Kim; he has been a member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and a vice chairman of the party’s Central Military Commission. | It remained unclear whether Mr. Choe was also removed from the other powerful posts he had gained under Mr. Kim; he has been a member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and a vice chairman of the party’s Central Military Commission. |
| Less than a month ago, on April 9, Mr. Choe was appointed as one of the three vice chairmen of the National Defense Commission, the top governing agency headed by Mr. Kim. | Less than a month ago, on April 9, Mr. Choe was appointed as one of the three vice chairmen of the National Defense Commission, the top governing agency headed by Mr. Kim. |
| In his last appearance in the North Korean media, on Saturday, Mr. Choe was still wearing the uniform of a vice marshal while attending a meeting of the Central Military Commission, during which Mr. Hwang was made vice marshal. | In his last appearance in the North Korean media, on Saturday, Mr. Choe was still wearing the uniform of a vice marshal while attending a meeting of the Central Military Commission, during which Mr. Hwang was made vice marshal. |
| “We think it is unlikely that Choe Ryong-hae has been purged,” said Kim Eui-do, a spokesman at the Unification Ministry of South Korea, which handles relations with North Korea. | “We think it is unlikely that Choe Ryong-hae has been purged,” said Kim Eui-do, a spokesman at the Unification Ministry of South Korea, which handles relations with North Korea. |
| Still, Mr. Choe’s removal from the military post signaled his declining influence; he had been the fastest-rising star under Mr. Kim’s young leadership. | Still, Mr. Choe’s removal from the military post signaled his declining influence; he had been the fastest-rising star under Mr. Kim’s young leadership. |
| Mr. Choe has diabetes. South Korean officials and analysts said his illness had worsened in recent months, and he was less frequently seen accompanying Mr. Kim in his public activities. In the North, the frequency with which an official is seen with Mr. Kim and the rank of his name in a list of party secretaries and military generals accompanying the top leader are two of the most important gauges of his status. | Mr. Choe has diabetes. South Korean officials and analysts said his illness had worsened in recent months, and he was less frequently seen accompanying Mr. Kim in his public activities. In the North, the frequency with which an official is seen with Mr. Kim and the rank of his name in a list of party secretaries and military generals accompanying the top leader are two of the most important gauges of his status. |