North Korea's army chief 'relieved of duties'

North Korea's army chief has been relieved of all his posts due to illness, state media has said, in a surprise development that removes one of new leader Kim Jong-un's inner circle.

As well as being head of the army, he was vice-chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission and held top posts in the ruling Workers' Party.

Ri Yong-ho is regarded as one of the key figures who has helped support the young, untested leader in the transition following the death in December of his father Kim Jong-il, the longtime leader of the reclusive state.

Ri, who became head of the army in 2009 with the official title Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, has often been seen accompanying the young Kim on visits to military bases in recent months.

The North's official KCNA news agency said that a meeting of top officials from the ruling party on Sunday took the decision to relieve him of his posts.

"A meeting of the political bureau of the central committee of the workers' party decided to relieve Ri Yong-ho of all his posts for his illness," it said.

He was removed from the "presidium of the politburo", the country's most powerful body with only a handful of members, the agency said.

He would also no longer be "vice-chairman of the central military commission of the" Workers' Party of Korea, the North's ruling party, it added.

Ri was made army chief three years ago under Kim Jong-il, the current leader's father who died in December 2011 after ruling North Korea for almost two decades.

The army chief regularly appeared at state occasions beside Kim Jong-il.

He was also one of seven top officials to accompany the younger Kim as he followed the hearse containing his father's body at his state funeral.

Ri was widely thought to be a figure in the inner circle of the new leader and instrumental in helping him cement his position.

His removal is now being scrutinised by analysts for signs of the direction in which Kim Jong-un, seen as young and inexperienced, will take the country.

Kim Jong-un did not serve in either of those two institutions which are ''traditional proving grounds and grooming grounds... for the leadership in the system''.

''So his position is very vulnerable because he does not know the generals and colonels who prop up the state,'' said Dr Kelly.

In April North Korea defied international warnings to launch a rocket - an action its neighbours called a long-range missile test that contravened UN resolutions.

South Korea also warned earlier this year that Pyongyang appeared to be in the late stages of preparing for a third nuclear test - a claim North Korea has denied.

International talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions have been stalled since 2009.