N. Korean media: Army chief relieved of all posts

Kim Jong Un's top military official  a key mentor to North Korea's young new leader who had served under his father  has been removed from all posts because of illness, state media said Monday in a surprise announcement that shakes the core of the authoritarian country's power structure.                  

Ri Yong Ho had looked healthy in recent appearances, and his departure fed speculation among analysts that Kim purged him in an effort to put his own mark on the nation he inherited seven months ago when his father Kim Jong Il died. At the same time, there was no sign of discord at Ri's last public appearance at a high-level event barely a week ago.                    

The decision to dismiss the 69-year-old from top military and political posts was made at a Workers' Party meeting Sunday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. It was not immediately clear who would take Ri's place, and the dispatch did not elaborate on his condition or future.                       

Ri was vice marshal and chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, making him the nation's top military official behind Kim Jong Un, who rules as supreme commander.                          

The dismissal of the top army official is a significant move in North Korea, which operated under a "military-first" policy under Kim Jong Il, who elevated the army's role when he became leader after the 1994 death of Kim Il Sung, his father and the nation's founder.

AP