Pyongyang: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been given the title of marshal and has become the head of the country’s 1.2-million-strong armed forces.
The move came after a high-level military reshuffle in which army chief Ri Yong-ho was removed from all his posts because of ‘illness’.
According to The Telegraph, Kim’s promotion is apparently designed to bolster his image and dispel concerns among the North Korean people that he is too young and inexperienced to lead a country.
Kim’s promotion is seen as part of the shake-up in the highest echelons of the North Korean military.
It places him above six military leaders who hold the rank of vice marshal.
The 29-year-old leader is now officially Marshall of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, First Secretary of the Workers'' Party of Korea, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, First Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea, Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and a presidium member of the Central Politburo of the party.
ANI
First Published: Wednesday, July 18, 2012, 13:08