Skip to the story
All StoriesPoliticsConflict & SecurityBusiness & EconomyScience & TechHealthClimateMedia
All stories
Politics47 outlets ran this2 min read

North Korea dismisses defense minister No Kwang Chol

Kim Song Gi appointed to replace No Kwang Chol in military leadership reshuffle

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
File photo of North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol (left) with Russia's Defense Minister Andrei Belousov at Pyongyang International Airport before the visiting defense minister's departure from North Korea on Nov 30, 2024. (Photo: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

What this story says

  • North Korea's defense minister, No Kwang Chol, has been dismissed and demoted.
  • Kim Song Gi has been appointed as the new defense minister.
  • The reshuffle was decided during a meeting led by Kim Jong Un.
  • Pak Jong Chon was appointed vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Who covered it

Left 14%(4)Centre 32%(9)Right 54%(15)

Percentages are shares of the 28 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 19 of the 47 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

57/100

Hype

20/100

47 sources · methodology

Thin on the left so far

Only 4 of the 28 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

North Korea has dismissed its defense minister, No Kwang Chol, and appointed Kim Song Gi in his place. The changes were decided during a meeting led by Kim Jong Un, according to state media reports. No Kwang Chol was demoted to first vice-director of the Munitions Industry Department. Pak Jong Chon was appointed vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Coverage disagreements

Channel News Asia and The Korea Times report that No Kwang Chol was demoted to "first vice-director of the Munitions Industry Department" and "first vice-director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee" respectively. El Mundo states that the dismissed minister, No Kwang Chol, is 68 years old. EADaily and The Straits Times state that No Kwang Chol was demoted in the ruling party leadership. The Straits Times also reports that No Kwang Chol was demoted in the ruling party leadership.

What the coverage left out

None of the left-rated digests mention Kim Jong Un lauding scientists and researchers for advances in defence technology, a detail present in the Channel News Asia and The Korea Times full reports.

Tags:#NorthKorea#Military#Politics#KimJongUn

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 30 Aug 2026, 02:00, and will add the sides that appear.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

North Korea dismisses defense minister No Kwang Chol
The Korea TimesLeft

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

4 rated outlets

  • The left-rated reports focused on the dismissal and demotion of No Kwang Chol. The Korea Times and rthk.hk both reported that No Kwang Chol was dismissed and demoted. The Korea Times specified his demotion to "first vice-director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee". Helsingin Sanomat reported that No Kwang-chol was dismissed on Saturday, according to the country's state media.

Centre

9 rated outlets

  • Centre-rated reports highlighted the dismissal and appointment of a new defense minister as part of a broader military leadership reshuffle. Channel News Asia and South China Morning Post reported that No Kwang Chol was dismissed as defence minister and demoted in the ruling party leadership. NK News stated that Kim Song Gi, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, was appointed the new defense minister. The Japan Times noted the dismissal was part of a "structural reorganization".

Right

15 rated outlets

  • Right-rated reports focused on the dismissal and replacement of the defense minister, often noting the demotion of the former minister. EADaily reported that Kim Jong Eun fired the head of the DOD. Mehr News Agency stated that North Korean state media announced the dismissal of the defense minister and his appointment to another defense post. Free Malaysia Today News mentioned the dismissal came amid a military leadership reshuffle and Kim Jong Un awarding honours for defence technology advances. El Mundo identified the dismissed minister as No. Kwang Chol, aged 68, and suggested he was formerly head of Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover North Korea dismisses defense minister No Kwang Chol?
Of the 28 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 14% are rated left, 32% are rated centre, 54% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 47. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is North Korea dismisses defense minister No Kwang Chol left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 28 rated outlets on this story, 14% are rated left, 32% are rated centre, 54% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of North Korea dismisses defense minister No Kwang Chol biased?
North Korea dismisses defense minister No Kwang Chol is one event reported by 47 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting North Korea dismisses defense minister No Kwang Chol?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered North Korea dismisses defense minister No Kwang Chol?
47 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
Who has been appointed as North Korea's new defense minister?
Kim Song Gi has been appointed as North Korea's new defense minister. He was previously the director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army.
What happened to the former defense minister, No Kwang Chol?
No Kwang Chol has been dismissed as North Korea's defense minister and demoted within the ruling party leadership to first vice-director of the Munitions Industry Department.
Who decided on the military leadership reshuffle?
The reshuffle of North Korea's military leadership was decided during a meeting led by Kim Jong Un.

Read it at the source

47 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

4

Centre

9
Show 1 more

Right

15
Show 7 more

Not rated

19
Show 11 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

More in Politics

All Politics →
Quebec election campaign: Parties focus on taxes, trade and leave2 min readQuebec election campaign: Parties focus on taxes, trade and leaveRead storyFedorov appointed Italian defense innovation advisor3 min readFedorov appointed Italian defense innovation advisorRead storyHamilton city hall is seen in this file photo. (CTV News Toronto)2 min readAustrian speaker Martin Sellner denied entry to Canada for conferenceRead story

Elsewhere on the site

Trump announces US control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oilBusiness & Economy•4 min readTrump announces US control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil
North Korea defense minister replaced | MediaBias News