Deputy CFC chief Gen. Kim tapped to lead Joint Chiefs of Staff

Army Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, the deputy commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), was named to lead the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the defense ministry said Wednesday, in the first reshuffle of top military officers since the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

The shake-up was announced hours after North Korea's launches of three ballistic missiles into the East Sea.

Lt. Gen. Park Jeong-hwan, the vice JCS chief, was named the new Army chief of staff while Lt. Gen. Ahn Byung-seok, the vice Army chief of staff, was picked for the deputy CFC commander post.

Vice Adm. Lee Jong-ho, the JCS military support division chief, was named the new chief of naval operations. Lt. Gen. Jung Sang-hwa, the JCS strategic planning division chief, was selected as the Air Force chief of staff.

Lt. Gen. Jeon Dong-jin, the JCS operations division chief, was tapped as the new Ground Operations Command chief, while Lt. Gen. Shin Hee-hyun, the head of the Army's 3rd Corps, was picked for the 2nd Operations Command chief.