Seoul, March 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) North Korea will hold the first session of its new Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) to deliberate on the election of state leadership and revision to the constitution, state media reported on Tuesday.
The upcoming session comes after North Korea held elections last Sunday to select deputies for a new term of the SPA following last month's Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.
"The session is to deliberate on the election of the president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the elections of the state leadership and sub-committees of the SPA, the revision and supplement of the Socialist Constitution," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The meeting will also discuss carrying through the five-year plan for national economic development adopted at the congress and the state budget for 2026, the KCNA said.
Key points of attention for the session include whether the North would codify its policy of defining the two Koreas as "two countries hostile to each other" in the constitution, as well as whether leader Kim Jong-un would issue further messages on the country's external relations.
The session is also expected to reelect Kim as the country's top leader and make a reshuffle in the Cabinet and other key government posts.
Ahead of the party congress, Kim had been speculated to assume the title of president, but the parliamentary meeting is expected to confirm his title as chief of the State Affairs Commission.
North Korea typically convenes a SPA session after a party congress as a follow-up step to legislate laws necessary to implement congress decisions. The SPA is widely seen as a rubber-stamp parliament that largely upholds what the ruling party has decided.
The list of the 687 deputies elected to the 15th SPA, released by the KCNA, included party secretary Jo Yong-won, who is known as one of Kim's closest aides. Jo is widely expected to be elected as chairman of the SPA standing committee.
Former SPA standing committee chairman Choe Ryong-hae was relieved of the post during last month's congress and was also excluded from the new-term parliament.
The list also included Kim's powerful sister, Kim Yo-jong, former point man on inter-Korean relations Ri Son-gwon, Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and party secretary Jong Kyong-thaek, who oversees the military.
Compared with the previous 14th SPA term, over 60 per cent of the deputies were replaced in the latest elections, suggesting a far-reaching personnel reshuffle possibly aimed at buttressing Kim's rule, Yonhap news agency reported.
The KCNA said workers, farmers, intellectuals, servicepersons and officials were elected as SPA deputies in Sunday's elections, describing them as state political activists tasked with fulfilling important missions and responsibilities in implementing congress decisions.
The news agency said the turnout reached 99.99 per cent.
Of those, 99.93 percent voted for the candidates, while 0.07 per cent voted against them, the KCNA said, in what appears to be a propaganda message highlighting voters' right to object, although the elections are largely seen as only a formality and non-secret.
Source: IANS
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