2024 was the year when the Democratic People's Republic of Korea exercised its right to self-defence on the principle of strength for strength and head-on contest against the vicious confrontation and adventurist military records of the United States and its vassal forces.

On February 8, the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, visited the Ministry of National Defence and said wemust possess absolute might which defies any provocation, might strong enoughto control the enemy. If the enemy dares to have recourse to armed force against our state, wewill make a bold decision to change history and enlist all the super-powerfulmeans in our hands unhesitatingly so as to annihilate the enemy, he declared.

On October 17, Kim Jong Un inspected the headquarters of the 2nd Corps of the Korean People’s Army and said that only the peace defended with the strength powerful enough to control and deter the enemy is a reliable, safe and lasting one and herein lies a sure guarantee for the well-being and future of our state and people.

When he inspected different combat training grounds including the training base of the special operation units of the KPA in the western area, he gave instructions on firmly holding fast to the policy of making a radical improvement in training, ideology and equipment. And he energetically guided the artillery firing drill of large combined units of the KPA, the training match between the tankmen large combined units, the training of air-borne units and the combined tactical drill simulating nuclear counterattack so as to make them serve as occasions of boosting actual war capacity and preparedness of the army.

The Workers' Party of Korea has vigorously led the second revolution in national defence industry aimed at making the KPA stronger in terms of military technique after declaring a national defence development strategy on turning the KPA into an elite army equipped with ultra-modern weapons by highly developing defence science and technology and researching and developing a greater number of ultra-modern weapons and combat equipment.

Advanced strategic and tactical weapon systems emerged one after another under the energetic guidance of Kim Jong Un.

A number of weapon systems were developed, which were proved in the evaluation test-fire of new-type surface-to-sea missile "Padasuri-6", the test-fire of submarine-launched strategic cruise missile "Pulhwasal-3-31", the test-fire of new-type intermediate-range hypersonic missile, the test-fire of controllable shells for multiple rocket launcher, the test-fire of tactical ballistic missile employing new guidance technology and the performance test of drones of various types.

On October 31, the DPRK conducted a test-fire of the new latest-type intercontinental ballistic missile "Hwasongpho-19", the most powerful offensive means.

That day, he said: As recently witnessed by us, the rivals' dangerous tightening of their nuclear alliance and various adventuristic military manoeuvres go to further highlight the importance of strengthening our nuclear forces. We should never allow any threat to approach the security sphere under our state's influence.

The military hardware exhibition "Defence Development--2024" opened with splendour in the capital city of Pyongyang on November 21.

The exhibition brought together mainly the strategic and tactical weapons which have been updated and developed once again in the light of modern and advanced characters and precision and power of strike and have drawn the world's attention through continuous development of their new type.

Addressing the exhibition, Kim Jong Un said that as long as there exist the forces attempting to infringe upon our sovereignty and the enemies persist in their vicious moves, we should continue to upgrade various kinds of military hardware and make them cutting-edge as much as the security environment of our state requires us and as many as the changes in the current wars show us.

Today the Democratic People's Republic of Korea rose as a powerful axis exercising its influence over the ever-changing political and military situations of the world under the leadership of Kim Jong Un.

2024 suggests that we should strengthen the self-defensive military power without interruption and limit and herein lie the eternal security and future of the DPRK and its people.