Loyalty to leader Kim Jong-un is eroding among the North Korean elites, the National Intelligence Service said Tuesday evaluating Kim's first four years in power.

NIS chief Lee Byung-ho told lawmakers that if loyalty or a sense of common destiny was set at 100 points during the reign of nation founder Kim Il-sung, it was perhaps 50-70 under his son Kim Jong-il but is now a mere 10.

The NIS claimed Kim junior has admitted how hard it is to run a country.

The spy agency believes it was pressure from China that prevented the North from launching another space rocket earlier this month to test long-range missile technology.

But a lack of technical preparation also played a role.

There were widespread fears that the North would launch the rocket to mark the 70th anniversary of the Workers Party on Oct. 10.

Asked about "nuclear backpacks" that were shown off by some soldiers during the anniversary parade, the NIS said the North "does not have the technology to miniaturize nuclear weapons yet."