North Korean media praised the country's leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday as they marked the fourth anniversary of his appointment as marshal.

On July 17, 2012, Kim, who was then in his late 20s, was awarded the rank of marshal of the DPRK, in a move seen as consolidating his grip on power.

The DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the communist country's official name.

In North Korea, marshal is the second-highest position in the military after grand marshal, a title shared by its founding leader Kim Il-sung, and his son and successor Kim Jong-il. The current leader assumed power upon the death of his father Kim Jong-il in late 2011. 

"It is our people's crowning good fortune and honor to serve comrade Kim Jong-un as the DPRK's marshal and leader of our nation," the North's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun wrote.

Kim has displayed courage and defended the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula, while crushing the attempts of the United States and its allies to wage a nuclear war, the paper claimed.

It also said Kim has ordered the Koreas to be reunified by immediately retaliating in the event that a single shell falls on its "sacred land."

Other media, including a propaganda outlet called Joseon Today, also lauded Kim's achievements.

"Because of this day on which we lifted comrade Kim Jong-un as marshal of the DPRK, our revolution's succession is firmly guaranteed and a new history has begun for our strong socialist nation," it said. (Yonhap)