Kim Jong Un Replaces North Korea's Defence Minister, Why?
North Korea has replaced its defence minister as part of a broader reshuffle of the country’s military leadership. This change aims to accelerate military modernisation efforts and tighten discipline within the ranks of its military.
According to Yonhap and the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sunday (30/08/2026), Kim Song-gi, the director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army, has been appointed as the country’s new defence minister, replacing No Kwang-chol.
No has been removed from his position as defence minister and from the party’s central leadership. He has been appointed as the first vice director of the Ammunition Industry Department of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK).
According to reports, the reshuffle was decided during the second meeting of the ninth WPK Central Military Commission held the previous day, presided over by leader Kim Jong Un.
In the latest reshuffle, veteran military official Pak Jong-chon was appointed vice chairman of the WPK Central Military Commission after being re-elected as a member of the party’s Central Committee and Politburo.
Pak returns to the forefront of North Korea’s military leadership after resigning from his positions in the Politburo and as party secretary, and being removed from his role as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission in February. His removal at that time sparked speculation that he had stepped back from the frontline due to age.
The vice chairman position is a key role overseeing North Korea’s military policy, with leader Kim Jong Un presiding over the commission.
The meeting “discussed a series of structural reorganisational plans for the enhancement and development of overall defence affairs in the future,” stated KCNA.
The newly appointed commanders will “firmly arm themselves with the party’s ideas to build a strong army” and implement the party’s military policies with “unlimited devotion and exceptionally high activity,” the report said.
In a separate report, KCNA noted that Kim met with scientists, researchers, and officials from major defence research institutes, presenting them with state awards for their contributions to developing new combat weapon systems and improving their performance.
Referring to them as “the greatest patriots and heroes,” Kim highly praised “recent innovative military technological and scientific achievements… as a great revolution that opens certain prospects for radically enhancing the modernity of our army’s combat weapon systems.”