North Korea has replaced its air force chief, Pyongyang's state media confirmed Monday, as leader Kim Jong-un inspected a major aviation unit.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) identified Lt. Gen. Choe Yong-ho as commander of the air and anti-air forces of the Korean People's Army, while calling his predecessor Col. Gen. Ri Pyong-chol a "responsible worker" at the Workers' Party of Korea.
Ri led the air force until last month, according to earlier reports by the KCNA.
The secretive communist nation's leader Kim has changed top military officials relatively frequently since taking power in late 2011 in an apparent bid to tighten control of the armed forces.
"He stressed the need for the pilots to make a deep study of plans for takeoff and landing at not only the unit's airfield, but also other unfamiliar airfields, and of their geographical features," reported the KCNA. (Yonhap)