Chol Pass for Army-First Grand March. (Photo Rodong Sinmun)

Pyongyang, April 9 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il was elected as the chairman of the National Defence Commission (NDC) of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on April 9, Juche 82 (1993).In the 1990s, the imperialists got more pronounced in the moves to stifle the DPRK, taking advantage of the collapse of socialism in some countries.In such critical times, Kim Jong Il shouldered a heavy responsibility of the NDC chairman, the top post of the state symbolizing and representing the dignity of the country and the nation, and brought about a fresh turn in socialist state building under the banner of Songun, guiding the overall affairs of the state.In the mid-1990s when the country was undergoing stern trials due to the hostile forces' persistent anti-DPRK moves and consecutive natural disasters, the Chairman pursued the Songun politics on a higher stage to turn the DPRK into a socialist power of Juche. He had made a ceaseless journey of Songun guidance over military units, defence industrial bases and numbers of units in various fields of the national economy.Thanks to his patriotic devotion, the DPRK turned into a world military power and made signal achievements in the building of an independent national economy.That's why foreign news reports said that the DPRK could become a most powerful country as it has leader Kim Jong Il as the chairman of the National Defence Commission.The 5th Session of the 12th Supreme People's Assembly in April 2012 decided to hold him in high esteem as the eternal chairman of the NDC of the DPRK.The title of the NDC chairman, associated with his great achievements, is shining all over the world with his august name, thanks to the loyalty of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.