PYONGYANG, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will keep up its military-first, or Songun, policy in a bid to build a powerful nation, a senior official said Monday.

    "Songun represents the dignity and sovereignty of the country and nation and it is the unshakable will of the Party to build a thriving nation with the might of Songun," said Ri Yong Ho, chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA).

    He made the remarks in a national meeting held in Pyongyang marking the 49th anniversary of the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Il's "start of Songun revolutionary leadership."

    Ri praised the top leader of having made "spectacular achievements ... despite the repeated military provocations of the U.S. imperialists," and he called on the people to firmly defend Kim Jong Il "politically and ideologically at the risk of their lives."

    Kim Jong Il "provided field guidance" to a tank division of the KPA on August 25, 1960, when the top leader was a teenager. The DPRK counts the day as the start of the top leader's "Songun revolutionary leadership."