PRIME Minister Hun Sen confirmed Thursday the elevation of former army head General Ke Kim Yan to the post of deputy prime minister in charge of anti-drug trafficking.

"In the near future, General Ke Kim Yan will be appointed deputy prime minister, and he will be the chairman of the National Authority for Combating Drugs," Hun Sen said at the closing session of the Ministry of Interior's annual meeting.

"This network for combating drugs must be strong, [so] I am bringing in a general of RCAF to fight against drugs."

The authority's Deputy Secretary General Chan Ven said the request for the promotion was received Tuesday by the National Assembly, but that the body's Permanent Committee, currently in recess, had not yet been called to convene an extraordinary session to discuss the issue.

"We need two or three days' notice to invite them to attend an extraordinary session", he said, adding that the Assembly's recess will wind up at the end of the month.

Permanent Committee member Cheam Yeap said Thursday there had so far been no call for an extraordinary session to consider the appointment of Ke Kim Yan, who was removed as head of the army in January.