N. Korea Changes Top Military Leaders

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il Wednesday named new chiefs for the communist nation's military in an unexpected military shakeup ahead of parliamentary elections next month, Yonhap News reported quoting a North Korean news agency Wednesday.

"Vice Marshal of the Korean People's Army Kim Yong-chun was appointed as minister of the People's Armed Forces of the National Defense Commission of the DPRK," the Korean Central News Agency said. The reshuffle was issued under the name of the North Korean leader.

Korean People's Army General Ri Yong-ho was promoted to the post of chief of the KPA General Staff, the report said.

North Korea usually shakes up its military and Cabinet after parliamentary elections. A new assembly reappoints leader Kim as chairman of the National Defense Commission, the backbone of the North's 1.1 million-strong army.

Pyongyang bypassed the parliamentary vote last August amid rumors that Kim had a stroke. In January, North Korea set the long-overdue vote for March 8.