South Korea's Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul has revealed that North Korea's former nuclear envoy Kim Yong-chol still holds his title as a vice chairman of the Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party. 

Minister Kim said in a meeting with foreign correspondents in Seoul on Tuesday that Kim Yong-chol, to his knowledge, is still a politburo member and the vice chairman of the central committee handling South Korean affairs. 

However, he said Kim is no longer director of the North's United Front Department, adding Seoul is looking into the ramifications of the shake-up within North Korea's leadership. 

In early April, Kim was reportedly replaced as director of the United Front Department by Jang Kum-chol, an  official relatively unknown outside the North. 

Seoul’s response comes days after a South Korean newspaper reported he had been sentenced to hard labor and reeducation due to the failure of the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi in February. After the report, he was pictured with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at events in Pyongyang.