On Friday, marking the 93rd anniversary of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army’s founding, North Korea emphasized Kim Jong Un’s revolutionary armed forces ideology and urged loyalty.
The Rodong Sinmun, North Korea’s ruling party newspaper, emphasized in a front-page editorial the importance of carrying forward the revolutionary legacy that originated on Baekdu Mountain. The piece called for continued efforts to strengthen and develop the country’s armed forces into a powerful revolutionary military under Kim Jong Un’s leadership.
The newspaper stressed that all military operations and activities must consistently uphold the General Secretary’s ideology and authority. It called for all soldiers to promptly receive and execute the Party Central Committee’s orders at the highest level, fostering a spirit of resolute implementation.
The editorial urged the military to embrace the Party’s five major training policies, create a surge in practical training, develop more capable commanders, and modernize operational combat training standards.
The newspaper also encouraged the defense science and military industrial sectors to develop and deploy next-generation advanced weaponry. It called on the military to support housing construction and implement the 20×10 Regional Development Policy.
Citizens were urged to deepen their pride in having Kim Jong Un at the forefront of the revolution and to advance the strengthening of revolutionary armed forces and comprehensive national revitalization.
Commemorative events for the People’s Revolutionary Army’s founding were held across the country.
On Thursday, the youth held a discussion about the film The Star of Korea at the Central Youth Hall. On Wednesday, union officials and members gathered at the Kuksabong Revolutionary Site in South Pyongan Province to share memories of anti-Japanese guerrilla participants.
Women’s union officials and members staged a performance titled We Will Forever Carry On the Glorious Tradition of Anti-Japanese Resistance at the Women’s Hall on Thursday.
North Korea originally designated April 25, 1932, as its military founding anniversary in 1978. In 2018, they changed it to February 8, the establishment date of the regular army. However, April 25 was later re-designated as a public holiday, commemorating the founding of the first armed group that became the foundation of the Korean People’s Army.
While a grand military parade was held in 2022 to celebrate the 90th anniversary, no such large-scale events are expected this year as it is not a milestone anniversary year. As of now, there have been no reports of Kim Jong Un’s public appearances related to the commemoration.