Songun

Songun is the "<a href="/facts/Militarism/3HncSuk9">military-first</a>" policy of <a href="/facts/North_Korea/Q41laakP">North Korea</a>, prioritizing the <a href="/facts/Korean_People%27s_Army/DFGFDtm7">Korean People's Army</a> in the affairs of state and allocation of resources. "Military-first" as a principle guides political and economic life in North Korea, with "military-first politics" dominating the political system; "a line of military-first economic construction" acting as an economic system; and "military-first ideology" serving as the guiding ideology.
Songun elevates the Korean People's Army within North Korea as an organization and as a state function, granting it the primary position in the <a href="/facts/Government_of_North_Korea/0mr8N9ax">North Korean government</a> and society. It guides <a href="/facts/Politics_of_North_Korea/r4b6hcFY">domestic policy</a> and <a href="/facts/Foreign_relations_of_North_Korea/tRUg4L1W">international interactions</a>. It is the framework for the government, designating the military as the "supreme repository of power". The government grants the Korean People's Army the highest economic and resource-allocation priority and positions it as the model for society to emulate. Songun represents the ideological concept behind a shift in policies since 1994 which emphasize the people's military over all other aspects of state and society.

Songun open-in-new

Songun