FILE PHOTO North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects the construction site of the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist area Thomson Reuters By Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's new top three military officers are known for their unquestioning support of leader Kim Jong Un and are flexible enough to accept the massive changes that may come from any deal with U.S. President Donald Trump, people who follow the secretive country say. They are loyal to Kim Jong Un and no one else.”

Trump revived the Singapore summit on Friday after cancelling it a week earlier. As Washington pursues a negotiated end to Pyongyang's nuclear program, U.S. officials believe there was some dissent in the military about Kim's negotiations with South Korea and the United States, a complete reversal of the North's pursuit of nuclear weapons and historic hostility. Citing an unidentified intelligence official, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said No Kwang Chol, first vice minister in the defense ministry, had replaced Pak Yong Sik as the defense chief, while Ri Yong Gil had returned as the army's chief of general staff in place of Ri Myong Su. Army general Kim Su Gil’s replacement of Kim Jong Gak as director of the KPA’s general political bureau was previously referenced in North Korean state media, and confirmed Monday by South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which deals with North Korean affairs. South Korea’s unification and defense ministries declined to confirm the report, while an official at the Unification Ministry said the government was watching the leadership situation in the North very closely. “I began thinking from their perspective,” he said. While many of these older Koreans still want to see the two countries reunited, young people do not share the sentiment. “All three of them have held very sensitive and high level positions under Kim Jong Un, they’re very loyal (to him), and all have experience interacting with foreign delegations.”

The three men replaced, Pak, Ri and Kim, are 68, 81 and 77 years old respectively. "All these (promoted) guys are top Kim Jong Un guys," said Michael Madden, author of the highly respected North Korea Leadership Watch blog .
North Korean state news agency KCNA reports that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said last Wednesday that he will visit Kim Jong-un in North Korea. The Syrian president's office refuses to comment on the report when contacted by AFP.