Dozens of North Korean soldiers killed after turning on each other in fierce gun battle following removal of army chief

Shooting broke out during removal of army chief Ri Yong-Ho from office



Officials say popular chief stepped down due to illness, but others believe he was forcibly removed

It is unclear whether Ri has been killed or injured in the gun battle



32 soldiers reported dead and many others injured

State television ignores shootings and focuses on celebrations for Kim Jong-Un as Supreme Leader



Dozens of North Korean soldiers are reported to have been killed in a fierce internal gun battle following the removal from office of army chief Ri Yong-Ho.



Bullets smashed into nearby buildings as government soldiers and personal guards of the popular military chief turned on each other in an unprecedented affray in the secretive Stalinist country.



Reports of the gun battle emerged in South Korea today as the North’s state television showed hundreds of uniformed soldiers literally dancing in the streets as they celebrated the elevation of Kim Jong-Un to the role of Supreme Leader and head of the nation’s military.

Military leader Ri Yong Ho, left, was regarded as a mentor figure to Kim Jong Un, who took over as leader of North Korea following the death of his father in 2011

It has not been established whether Mr Ri was injured or killed in the gun battle, which has been totally ignored by state television.

Celebrations for Kim’s appointment as head of the military are the main focus of news from the capital, Pyongyang.





But one source was quoted as saying that ‘we cannot rule out the possibility that Ri was badly injured or even died during the firefight when his guards possibly tried to protect him.’



Exactly why Mr Ri was removed from the high office remains unclear, even though the North Korean regime insisted that he had been allowed to step down due to illness.



In South Korea, analysts said they had no doubt that Mr Ri had been sacked and might even have had to be physically removed from office.

Right-hand man: Ousted army chief Ri Yong-Ho, left, pictured alongside Kim Jong-Un, right, at a mourning service for North Korea's former leader Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang in 2011

Together we stand: Kim Jong Un with army chief Ri Yong-Ho (far right) and defense chief Kim Yong Chun (second from right).

Happier days: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, smiles with vice-marshal Choe Ryong Hae, director of the People¿s Army General Political Bureau (centre) and military leader Ri Yong-Ho, during a recent army parade in Pyongyang.

A South Korean newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, said it had been told by government officials in Seoul that the gun battle erupted when vice-marshal Choe Ryong Hae, director of the People’s Army General Political Bureau, tried to detain Mr Ri.



The officials said the vice marshal had been carrying out Kim Jong-un’s orders to sack him during a struggle for power in the core of Kim’s regime.



Details of the gun battle have yet to emerge, but one report said bullets flew and as many as 36 soldiers – for and against Mr Ri – had died and many others had been injured.

Pledge of support: North Korean soldiers promise their loyalty to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.



While the North will be determined to suppress information about the reported gun battle, it was eager to show the world what support Kim had received following the ‘important announcement’ earlier in the week that late leader Kim Jong-Il’s son had became head of the military.



Soldiers of the nation’s 1.2 million-strong armed forces were shown dancing in the streets of the capital and singing patriotic songs.



