North Korea confirms new military chief: State media

Seoul: North Korea said on Wednesday that a recently appointed army vice marshal was the nation's new military chief, as new leader Kim Jong-Un seeks to gain more control over the army.

The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) described Hyon Yong-Chol, a veteran field officer named as a vice marshal on Monday, as the chief of the general staff of the Korean People's Army in a news report on a military event.

Hyon's predecessor, Ri Yong-Ho, was relieved of all his posts on Sunday officially due to "illness", an explanation met with widespread scepticism by North Korea watchers.

New leader Jong-Un was earlier on Wednesday named "Marshal" of the North, assuming a title earlier held by his late father and the communist state's longtime ruler Kim Jong-Il.

Senior military officials and thousands of soldiers gathered in Pyongyang on Wednesday to celebrate Jong-Un's promotion and to pledge loyalty to the new marshal, state TV showed.

"Hyon Yong-Chol, chief of the general staff of the KPA (Korean People's Army), offered the highest glory and the warmest congratulations to the respected supreme commander," KCNA said.

It did not say when Hyon officially became the chief of the nation's 1.2 million-strong military -- one of the world's largest.

"(Hyon) said that the title awarded to Kim Jong-Un is a manifestation of the boundless respect of the army and people... and an event... that displayed their firm will to trust only the supreme commander and follow him," it said.

Analysts say the recent moves suggest that the ruling communist party led by Jong-Un is trying to rein in the army, that has gained huge power under the "Songun" (military-first) policy of Jong-Il.

Jong-Un, believed to be in his late 20s, became the North's supreme commander and the first secretary of the party after the death of his father last December, the third in a dynasty to head the country.