The Economist says that Kim Jong-un’s promotion to four-star general suggests that North Korea will continue with its "military-first" policy as a guiding principle in the future.

In a report entitled “We Three Kims of Orient are,” the magazine said that the recent conference of North Korea’s Workers’ Party delegates was expected to serve as a chance for the ruling party to renew its influence. The report said that China is also presumed to have advised North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to strengthen the role of the party.

But the Economist said that Kim Jong-un’s promotion to a general first and party official second is interpreted as meaning that the military-first policy would continue.

The report also said that Kim Jong-un’s promotion to a vice chairman of the party’s Central Military Commission and a member of the party’s central committee is the first step toward giving him enough power and experience to ensure that a smooth power succession can occur in the event of his father’s death.

It said that five other generals were appointed at the same time as Kim Jong-un, including Choi Ryong-hae, a loyalist to the Kim family, and Kim Kyung-hui, the sister of the North Korean leader.

Kim Kyung-hui is also the wife Chang Song-thaek, the vice-chairman of the National Defense Commission and the second most powerful man in the North. The couple is expected to take over the tutelage of the younger Kim.