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Kim Jong-un is apparently keeping up his purge within the upper echelons of North Korean society with the reported sacking of his hawkish army chief.

Kim Kyok-sik, who is believed to have been behind the sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan and the bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island in late 2010, has disappeared from the list of senior regime officials attending public events in recent weeks. “We are closely watching developments in the North, believing that Kim Kyok-sik has been replaced by Ri Yong-gil, the chief of operations for the Army General Staff,” a source in the South Korean government told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

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North Korean media have also pictured Ri with new four-star insignia.

Analysts believe that Kim Kyok-sik has been replaced as Kim Jong-un attempts to stamp his own influence on the military and replace those who were loyal to his father’s regime with his own hand-picked acolytes.

“Kim is phasing out the older generation of officers and he has learned that you have to manage your dictatorship carefully if you want to stay in power,” Daniel Pinkston, a North Korea analyst with The International Crisis Group in Seoul, said. “He is gradually phasing out the people who potentially pose the greatest threat to his hold on power, and that would include professional military officers who have commanded lots of troops in the field.”

The purge follows the execution of 12 female singers and musicians — including Hyon Song-wol, Kim’s former girlfriend — for reportedly making and selling pornographic videos.

“They were executed with machine guns while the key members of the Unhasu Orchestra, Wangjaesan Light Band and Moranbong Band as well as the families of the victims looked on,” a Chinese source said in the report.

Hyon’s popularity reached its zenith (in North Korea) with the 2005 single A Girl In The Saddle Of A Steed , also known as Excellent Horse-Like Lady.

The band’s other patriotic hits include Footsteps of Soldiers, I Love Pyongyang, She is a Discharged Soldier and We are Troops of the Party.