Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, has dismissed his top general and demanded that the military expands the combat capabilities of frontline units and steps up plans for a possible war.
Kim’s orders, at a meeting of the central military commission, were reported by state media on Thursday and come ahead of the large-scale annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise by the United States and South Korea later this month.
Pyongyang has long condemned the drills as rehearsals for an invasion and used them as a pretext to expand its own weapons tests and nuclear missile programme.
North Korea has test-fired more than 100 missiles since the start of last year, escalating tensions to their worst point in years and prompting Seoul to reinstate nationwide civil defence drills.
The military meeting that replaced Pak Su, the chief of the general staff, with General Ri Yong Gil, also discussed counter-measures to deter North Korea’s enemies who were getting more blatant in their “reckless military confrontation”, state newswire KCNA reported. It did not give a reason for the ousting of the army chief.