North Korea: Kim Jong-un powers up to solidify his status as military head SOLDIERS danced in the squares of Pyongyang as North Korea announced yesterday that leader Kim Jong-un was named marshal, a title cementing his status atop the authoritarian nation's military as he makes key changes to the 1.2 million-man force. State media said in a special midday bulletin that North Korea's military, government and political leadership had decided on Tuesday to award the top title to Mr Kim, who already is supreme commander of the Korean People's Army. The move solidifies his standing seven months into his rule and follows several days of reshuffling at the highest levels of the military. His new military vanguard - led by a vice-marshal introduced yesterday as the nation's next army chief - presided over a meeting of officers and defence officials. Hyon Yong-chol, promoted to vice-marshal on Monday, was introduced as the chief of the general staff of the Korean People's Army. He replaces Ri Yong-ho, whose dismissal was announced on Monday as being due to illness. Mr Ri, who had held high military and political posts under Kim Jong-il, was at Kim Jong-un's side throughout the succession process. Inside the 25 April House of Culture, officers applauded and cheered the news of Mr Kim's ascension to the top military post, while soldiers twirled, danced and sang patriotic songs in the square outside. "I am pleased that our cherished desire came into reality," Kim Jong-gum, a student at the Kang Pan Sok Revolutionary School, dressed in a military uniform, said. This day will be remembered in our hearts as another auspicious day. The title of marshal - held previously by Mr Kim's father and grandfather, North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung - is "another brick in the wall of consolidating Kim Jong-un's power, across party, state and military institutions," said John Delury, an analyst at Yonsei University in South Korea. "In the wake of Ri's stepping down, it takes on added significance," he said. The regime would appear to be closing ranks around their young leader. One by one, Mr Kim has collected top posts in the military and party, including first chairman of the National Defence Commission, first secretary of the ruling Workers" Party, chairman of the party's Central Military Commission and member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau. He was made supreme commander of the military in December, just days after his father's death from a heart attack. It remains unclear how the military reshuffle will affect North Korea's largely tense relationship with the outside world. The South Korean and US militaries have stepped up their monitoring of North Korea's military in the wake of Mr Ri's dismissal, but they've seen no suspicious activities, according to Seoul's defence ministry. Little is known about Vice-Marshal Hyon, the new army chief. He joined the Central Committee of the Workers" Party, a key decision-making body, in September 2010, and was on the funeral committee for Kim Jong-il - two strong indicators of his rise in stature. He is among four generals promoted to vice-marshal since Kim Jong-un took over. Kim Jong-il held the title marshal until he was posthumously made "generalissimo" - the nation's top military title - in February, shortly before what would have been his 70th birthday. He had been named marshal 20 years earlier, when his father, Kim Il-sung, was promoted to generalissimo.