Attending the meeting were members of the Central Military Commission of the WPK, executive members of the KPA Committee of the WPK and commanding officers of services and corps-level units.

The participants observed a moment's silence in memory of leader Kim Jong Il at the proposal of Kim Jong Un.

The meeting discussed important strategic issues of bringing about a radical turn in the overall work for national defence as required by the prevailing situation and developing revolution and an organizational matter.

Kim Jong Un made a historic speech.

He said that over the past three years since the demise of Kim Jong Il the service personnel of the KPA have safeguarded the WPK and the revolution with pure conscience and clear mind, regarding the loyalty to the party and leader and moral obligation as dearer than their own lives despite the graver situation at home and abroad than ever before.

The enlarged meeting is of weighty significance in clearly indicating the future orientation of building the army for carrying out the behests of Kim Jong Il and letting the People's Army, the main force for the Songun revolution, win victories in defending socialism and all sectors for building a thriving nation this year so as to successfully greet the 70th anniversaries of the WPK and the liberation of the country as grand political festivals, he noted.

He reviewed the work of the KPA last year and set forth the ways of carrying out its work for this year.

Last year the service personnel of the KPA grew stronger in their faith and will to hold President Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in high esteem as the eternal sun of Juche and accomplish the revolutionary cause of Songun under the guidance of the party and the politico-ideological might and combat capabilities of the KPA were remarkably bolstered up and the foundation for supply service was consolidated to open a prospect for satisfactorily solving the issue of service personnel's living, he said.

He pointed to the deviations manifested in the work of the KPA last year and set forth a strategic line to be always held fast to by the KPA which has a responsible duty of national defence and tasks and ways for developing the revolutionary armed forces.

He underlined the need to implement the line of making the KPA politically, ideologically and morally stronger as required by the developing reality in which the cause of Juche-oriented army-building has reached a higher level.

Emphasizing the need for the KPA to focus all its efforts on rounding off combat readiness this year, he said to this end, it was necessary to simplify the machinery of the KPA and indicated the orientation and ways for reorganizing the machinery in such a way as to realize the strategic intention of the Supreme Command any time.

Calling on the KPA to be fully ready to react to any form of war to be ignited by the enemy, he clarified the methods of fighting a war with the U.S. imperialists and corresponding operational and tactical matters.

Our revolution advances, keeping pace with the KPA, and the pace of the KPA precisely means the speed of the advance of our revolution, he said, adding that the KPA should dash ahead like the wind in the van to be followed by the whole country in its speed and thus bring earlier a rosy future of the great Paektusan nation.