North Korean leader Kim Jong Un fires top officials after standoff with South Korea eases

August 21, 2015: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks at an emergency meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea Central Military Commission. (Reuters)

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un has dismissed some top officials in the wake of a recent standoff with South Korea.

The rival Koreas earlier this week threatened strikes against each other before agreeing on measures to reduce animosity. After land mines maimed two South Korean soldiers, Seoul resumed propaganda broadcasts critical of Kim's authoritarian rule.

State media said Friday that Kim hailed the agreement.

Pyongyang gave no reasons for the dismissal of members of the ruling party's Central Military Commission, but analysts say it could be linked to the land mine explosions that Seoul blamed on the North.

During a party meeting Kim also ordered soldiers to help a recently flooded city, a sign of his need to show his people he cares about a decrepit economy.