Kim Jong-un replaces North Korea's top 3 military leaders ahead of Trump summit

North Korea's top threemilitary officials have been removed from their posts, a seniorU.S. official said, in a move that could supportefforts by the North's young leader to jump-start economicdevelopment and engage with the world.

Kim Jong-un is preparing for a high-stakes summit with U.S.President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12, the first suchmeeting between a North Korean leader and a sitting U.S.president.

The U.S. official, who spoke on Sunday on condition ofanonymity, was commenting on a report by South Korea's Yonhapnews agency that all three of the North's top military officialswere believed to have been replaced.

Citing an unidentified intelligence official, YonhapsaidNo Kwang-chol, first vice-minister in the Defence Ministry, had replaced Pak Yong-sik as the defencechief, while Ri Yong-gil had returned as the army's chief ofgeneral staff in place of Ri Myong-su.

Kim's motivation remains unclear, but analysts said theshake-up allows him and the ruling party to tighten control over
the Korean People's Army (KPA) at a critical time ofinternational engagement and domestic development.

'They are loyal to Kim'

"If Kim Jong-un is set on making peace with the U.S. andSouth Korea and dealing away at least part of the nuclear program, he will have to put the KPA's influence in a box andkeep it there," said Ken Gause, director of the InternationalAffairs Group at CNA, a non-profit research and analysisorganization.

"This reshuffle has brought to the fore the officers who cando just that. They are loyal to Kim Jong-un and no one else."

There would be a denuclearization road map coming out of the summit with Trump, and it would be burdensome for Kim to have hawks who could be agitated by any desertion of the nuclear program.- CheongSeong-chang,Sejong Institutesenior fellow

North Korean media had earlier reported that army Gen.Kim Su-gil had succeeded Kim Jong Gak as director of the army'spowerful General Political Bureau, one of the most seniorpositions in the country.

The changes are a shock because they take place so close toeach other and come just ahead of the scheduled June 12 summitbetween Trump and Kim in Singapore.

Some analysts said Kim was replacing older officers who werewedded to the country's nuclear doctrine with loyalists whowould follow any changes he may make following the summit.

"There would be a denuclearization roadmap coming out of thesummit with Trump, and it would be burdensome for Kim to havehawks who could be agitated by any desertion of the nuclearprogram," said CheongSeong-chang, a senior fellow at SouthKorea's Sejong Institute.

Loyalists put in place

Trump wants North Korea to "denuclearize" in return forrelief from economic sanctions. Pyongyang sees its nuclear weapons as vital to its survival, but Kim has said he plans tofocus on economic development.

The moves are also in line with Kim's years-long efforts toconsolidate power by purging senior officers and promotingtrusted younger advisers to the politburo and other corepositions.

The new officers could also provide some insurance againstany attempt to seize power while Kim is away at the summit,experts say.

"All these guys are Kim Jong-un people," said MichaelMadden, a North Korea leadership expert at Johns Hopkins University's 38 North website. "Kim Jong-un is going to putpeople in place he can trust, who are loyal to him."

In addition to being hardcore loyalists, Madden said thethree officers were experienced in dealing with foreigners, which was seen as a plus point. But it was not immediately clear whether any of them would accompany Kim to Singapore.

Kim Su-gil, 68, is a four-star army general who is one ofKim Jong-un's most trusted aides, accompanying him on variousmilitary inspections and public events.

He was among those involved in the purge and execution ofKim Jong-un's powerful uncle, Jang Song-thaek, in December 2013.

Then he was tapped to lead the party's Pyongyang chamber inearly 2014, a job which Madden said was meant for "housecleaning" the administration of Jang's confidants.

Party credentials

All of the newly promoted officials are younger than theirpredecessors, even though they are all in their 60s.

The three were also named in May 2016 as alternate membersof the ruling Workers' Party politburo the opaque, all-powerful governing body where top state affairs are decided.

Ri Yong-gil served as chief of staff from 2013 to 2016 untilhe reportedly fell from grace for a brief period, the analysts said.

In the early 2000s, Ri was commander of an army unit thatdefends the perimeter around Pyongyang, a sensitive positionthat Gause said is traditionally "personally selected" by theleader of the country.

No Kwang-chol, the 62-year-old relatively less known newdefence chief, previously headed the Second Economic Committee,which oversees defence production including the nuclear andmissile programs.

"This is where you would send someone you could trust," saidHong Min, head of North Korea research at the state-run KoreaInstitute for National Unification in Seoul.

"No is a person who has come to the fore in the Kim Jong-unera, as an up-and-coming and trusted aide. It is not strange atall if he becomes defence minister."