While still praised as the country’s guiding ideology, Kim Jong Il’s Songun (military-first) idea is now declining in actual influence over North Korean state strategy, Kyongnam University professor Kim Keun-sik said in an interview with NK News.

Kim Jong Un, now having a firm grip on leadership, has rebalanced the party-military relationship by weakening the armed forces, which had become bloated under his father’s reign, and seeks to diversify North Korea’s foreign policy partners, Kim said.