with the attempt at recovery—the "Arduous March"—from the economic troubles during the famine that swept North Korea in the 1990s. In order to overcome the economic crisis, the army was expected to work at the forefront. The government set a strategic goal of becoming "a powerful and prosperous nation" through military-first policy. Sergey Kurbanov, head of the Institute of Korean Studies of the University of Saint Petersburg, described in his Daily NK interview how the members of the in North Korea support the military-first politics in order to secure their wealth. See also Byungjin ("parallel development", a term used by Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-un) Conscription Guns versus butter model Martial law Militarism Military dictatorship Military–industrial complex Military Keynesianism Park Chung-hee Stratocracy War economy References Citations Sources Cheong, Wook-sik, "Military First Policy", presented at Washington Peace Network, Washington, D.C., 19 April 2007. Chun, Mi-young, "The Kim Jong Il administration's recognition of politics", KINU policy series, September 2006. Feffer, John. "Forgotten Lessons of Helsinki: Human Rights and U.S.-North Korean Relations", World Policy Journal, v.XXI, no.3, Fall 2004. Platkovskiy, Alexander. Nuclear Blackmail and North Korea's Search for a place in the sun: The North Korean Nuclear Program. New York and London: Routledge, 2000. Further reading Economic ideologies Economy of North Korea Government of North Korea Ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea Korean nationalism Militarism Political theories Politics of North Korea