Kim Jong Il praised for military prowess

PYONGYANG, North Korea, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- North Korea says it will build on Kim Jong Il's "military-first" policies as it marks the 17th anniversary of his ascension as supreme army commander.

In a statement issued Tuesday, North Korea's official news agency said senior Communist Party, army and state officials gathered to commemorate and praise the North Korean leader's stewardship of the People's Army, and vowed to continue his policies of "songun," or the primacy of the military in North Korean life.

The statement praised Kim for "laying an eternal foundation for achieving boundless prosperity of the country and nation, guided by the great songun idea and with energetic songun revolutionary leadership. These revolutionary exploits performed by Kim Jong Il will shine forever along with the history of the country."

The statement also warned South Korea, the United States and any other potential first-strike aggressor that Pyongyang's military would turn the Korean peninsula into a "sea of fire" in a counterattack, which would "reduce everything treacherous and anti-reunification to debris and build an independent reunified country on it."