--- description: North Korea has replaced its top three military officials in a possible effort to deescalate tensions ahead of a summit with President Trump title: North Korea Replaces Top Military Brass Before Trump Summit image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a34c46a72275bb5/6989322597cdff554d6b567a/rts1qijl.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [North Korea](/tag/north-korea/) ## North Korea Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # North Korea Replaces Its Top Military Officials Ahead of the Summit with President Trump, Report Says by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 4, 2018 3:35 AM CUT  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un makes a speech in Dalian, China in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 9, 2018. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un makes a speech in Dalian, China in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 9, 2018.KCNA/Reuters by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 4, 2018 3:35 AM CUT North Korea has [replaced](http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2018/06/03/0200000000AEN20180603000951315.html "undefined") its top three military officials ahead of a planned summit with President Donald Trump in Singapore, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports. Citing an intelligence source, Yonhap named the outgoing officials as defense minister Pak Yong Sik, Ri Myong Su, the Korean People’s Army’s (KPA) chief of the general staff, and Kim Jong Gak, director of the KPA’s General Political Bureau and former defense minister. The latter’s replacement was announced in North Korean state media last month. “The North appears to have brought in new figures amid the changes in inter-Korean relations and the situation on the Korean Peninsula as the previous officials lacked flexibility in thinking,” the intelligence official told Yonhap, in particular identifying No Kwang-chol, the new defense minister, as a “moderate.” The shuffle was [confirmed](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-military/north-koreas-top-three-military-officials-replaced-u-s-official-says-idUSKCN1IZ0XY "undefined") by an anonymous U.S. official, who did not identify the outgoing figures, Reuters reports. The shakeup could also represent a generational transition — all of the newly appointed officials are younger than their predecessors — or an effort by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to consolidate his command of the military ahead of the summit, according to Reuters. The historic meeting has been on shaky ground in recent weeks, with Trump [canceling](http://time.com/5290007/donald-trump-cancels-north-korea-nuclear-summit-kim-jong-un/ "undefined") late last month and alleging “tremendous anger and open hostility” from his North Korean counterparts. North Korea had [threatened to withdraw](http://time.com/5278763/north-korea-us-summit-nuclear-weapons/ "undefined") over concerns that planned negotiations would reflect a “one-sided” agenda focusing only on North Korean denuclearization. In a dramatic turnaround last week, Trump announced that the summit [would go ahead](http://time.com/5299000/donald-trump-june-12-meeting-kim-jong-un-back-on/ "undefined") on June 12, and [hosted](http://time.com/5298216/kim-yong-chol-donald-trump-letter-kim-jong-un/ "undefined") high-ranking North Korean official [Kim Yong Chol](http://time.com/5292956/kim-yong-chol-north-korea/ "undefined") in Washington. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5299850/north-korea-replace-military-officials-summit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5299850/north-korea-replace-military-officials-summit/"},"headline":"North Korea Replaces Its Top Military Officials Ahead of the Summit with President Trump, Report Says","datePublished":"2018-06-04T03:35:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T20:27:14.446Z","description":"The shakeup comes just a week ahead of a planned summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un","url":"https://time.com/5299850/north-korea-replace-military-officials-summit/","keywords":["North Korea","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a34c46a72275bb5/6989322597cdff554d6b567a/rts1qijl.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a34c46a72275bb5/6989322597cdff554d6b567a/rts1qijl.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"North Korean leader Kim Jong Un makes a speech during a visit to Dalian, China in this undated photo released on May 9, 2018 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)","caption":"North Korean leader Kim Jong Un makes a speech during a visit to Dalian, China in this undated photo released on May 9, 2018 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)","creditText":"KCNA/Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/north-korea/","name":"North Korea"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5299850/north-korea-replace-military-officials-summit/","name":"North Korea Replaces Its Top Military Officials Ahead of the Summit with President Trump, Report Says"}}]}] ```