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Kim Jong-un stresses 'ideology-first' principle for military during university visit

Published: 25 Feb. 2025, 10:34

This image, captured from the Rodong Sinmun daily, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, giving a speech during his visit to the Kim Il Sung University of Politics. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a military and political university and emphasized the "ideology-first" principle and loyalty in building a powerful military, the North's state media reported Tuesday.

Kim visited the Kim Il Sung University of Politics the previous day and gave a speech to faculty and students, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, describing the university named after North Korea's founder and the leader's grandfather as the supreme military and political school of the armed forces.

"The Korean People's Army ... should surely become the strongest army in the world" and adhere to and strengthen "the political, ideological, spiritual and moral advantages," Kim said in the speech.

"Imbuing the army with ideology before arming it with military technology is the core of army building," the leader noted, citing "soldiers, weapons and ideology" as the "three elements of the armed forces.

The development of the Korean People's Army should prioritize strengthening its political, ideological and moral qualities before advancing military technology equipment, including nuclear-armed forces, Kim also said.

Top-ranking military cadres accompanied Kim on his visit to the university, including Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the party's Central Military Commission, and Defense Minister No Kwang-chol, according to the KCNA.

Founded in 1945 in Pyongyang, the Kim Il Sung University of Politics trains political officers for the armed forces, while Kim Il Sung Military University educates field commanders.

Yonhap