North Korea has named a former ambassador to Switzerland as its new foreign minister, the country's state media reported Wednesday.

Ri Su-yong replaced Pak Ui-chun as the top diplomat of the communist country in a reshuffle of key officials announced after the first session of the North's newly elected rubber-stamp parliament.

Ri is believed to have served as a guardian of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un when Kim studied at an international school in Switzerland in the 1990s. (Yonhap)