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SEOUL, South Korea July 16, 2012 (AP)

Kim Jong Un's top military official — a key mentor to North Korea's new young leader — has been removed
from all posts because of illness, state media said Monday.

The decision to relieve Ri Yong Ho of his duties was made at a Workers' Party meeting Sunday, according to the
North's official Korean Central News Agency. It was not immediately clear who would take Ri's place, and the North
Korean media dispatch did not elaborate on Ri's condition or future.

Ri was vice marshal of the Korean People's Army and the military's General Staff chief, as well as a top figure in
the Workers' Party.

He has been at Kim Jong Un's side since the young man emerged as father Kim Jong Il's successor in 2010, often
standing between father and son at major events. That role appeared to deepen after Kim Jong Il's death in
December, helping Kim to solidify support among the military.



Kim Jong Il's "military first" policy made the army North Korea's most powerful institution. Ri wielded power from
his position at the intersection of three crucial institutions: the Korean People's Army, the Central Military Commission
of the ruling Workers' Party and the Standing Committee of the party's influential Political Bureau.

Ri also oversaw an influential Kim Jong Un support group comprising officers in their 50s and 60s whom commanders
consider rising stars, according to Ken Gause, a North Korea specialist at CNA, a U.S.-based research organization.