Noting that the DPRK held Kim Jong Il in high esteem as the supreme commander of the armed forces on Dec. 24, 1991, the general secretary said that he has trained the KPA as an invincible army, frustrating the attempts of the imperialists at aggression and guaranteeing the security of socialist Korea.

In the days of defending socialism on which hinged the destiny of the country Kim Jong Il unrolled a grandiose plan for building a thriving nation and laid a springboard for doing so, he said, adding that a new era of building a thriving nation has come to the DPRK.

He stressed that the party would join the Korean people in celebrating the day.