By dint of the original Songun (military-first) politics, he protected the Korean-style socialism and turned the DPRK into a military giant and full-fledged nuclear weapons state.

Since its founding, the DPRK has been exposed to constant threats of aggression by the U.S.-led hostile forces.

The United States, after occupying south Korea, deployed more than 1 000 nuclear weapons in it, posing military threat to the DPRK.

Taking advantage of the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the eastern European socialist countries, it began intensifying political, military and economic pressure upon the DPRK under the pretext of non-existent "nuclear suspicion".

The U.S. prodded the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to making "ad-hoc inspection" of the DPRK, while resuming the "Team Spirit" joint military rehearsal and amassing its armed forces in and around the Korean Peninsula.

To cope with such touch-and-go situation prevailing on the Korean Peninsula, Kim Jong Il issued an order of the supreme commander of the Korean People's Army declaring a semi-war state to the whole country.

In the wake of it, he saw to it that a DPRK government statement was released to announce the DPRK's withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Taking issue with the DPRK's nuclear facilities for peaceful purpose, the U.S. went the lengths of making public a scenario for preemptive nuclear attack on the DPRK.

The situation compelled the DPRK to get access to nuclear deterrent. It successfully conducted a nuclear test, turning itself to be a nuclear state.

Later, the U.S. created the second nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

In this regard the DPRK manifested its firm will to maintain and bolster up its nuclear deterrence at the 1st Session of the 11th Supreme People's Assembly in September Juche 92 (2003).

In February 2005, the DPRK government in its foreign ministry statement declared that it would increase nuclear arsenal in order to defend its ideology, social system, freedom and democracy.

The dear respected Marshal Kim Jong Un in his speech at a military parade celebrating the 100th Day of the Sun last year said that the military and technological superiority is no longer monopoly of the imperialists and gone never to return are the days when the enemies threatened and blackmailed the DPRK with nuclear weapons.

The DPRK's nuclear deterrent is a precious national treasure that can never be exchanged for anything, and the feats performed by Kim Jong Il to turn the country into a full-fledged nuclear state will remain long in the history of Korea.