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FILE - In this July 27, 2012 file photo, a North Korean flag flutters during a military exercise by the historic 105 tank unit at an undisclosed location in North Korea, marking the 59th anniversary of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea's military, founded 81 years ago Thursday, is older than the country itself. It began as an anti-Japanese militia and is now the heart of the nation's “military first” policy. Late leader Kim Jong Il elevated the military's role during his 17-year rule, boosting troop levels to an estimated 1.2 million soldiers, according to the South Korean government. The military's new supreme commander, Kim Jong Un, gave the Korean People's Army a sharpened focus this year by instructing troops to build a “nuclear arms force.” (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin, File)