North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has dismissed the leader of the national military and called for war preparations to be stepped up, state media reported on Thursday.
Mr Kim dismissed chief of the general staff Pak Su-il at a meeting of senior generals from his ruling Worker's Party, replacing him with Vice Marshal Ri Yong-gil, Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency reported.
Mr Pak, who was promoted to the post late last year, may have been dismissed "because he did not demonstrate sufficient competence in the field of military operations", Cheong Seong-chang, a researcher at the Sejong Institute told AFP.
"Kim Jong-un has shown a tendency to quickly replace officials when they are judged to be lacking in the ability to control and perform their duties," he said.
Mr Ri was the "most suitable" replacement because he has previously held the position for a long time, Mr Cheong added.
State media, which published photos of Mr Kim at Thursday meeting pointing to maps of South Korea, said the gathering was held to discuss "the issue of making full war preparations" and ensuring "perfect military readiness for a war".
The North Korean leader called for war readiness on an "offensive" scale amid growing co-operation between the US and its ally South Korea, which has condemned a number of ballistic missile launches from North Korea in recent months.
Mr Kim signed an order to implement unspecified “important military measures," the report added, and called for the military to step up mass production of weapons and stage "actual war drills".
North Korea said it viewed major military drills between Washington and Seoul as preparation for an invasion and has warned of an "overwhelming" response.
It has launched several long-range missiles towards South Korea and Japan, prompting the US to urge its East Asian allies to co-operate more closely and beware of growing Chinese and North Korean threats.
The latest report appeared to be North Korea's "own response to the upcoming joint military training between Seoul and Washington", an official from Seoul's Unification Ministry said.
"I think he wanted to send a message to the South with a threatening action," the source added, referring to the photo of Mr Kim with a map of Seoul.
Last month, Mr Kim gave Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu a tour of an arms exhibition featuring missiles banned under UN Security Council resolutions.
It was the first visit of a Moscow defence chief to North Korea since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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