The nation’s rubber stamp legislature will convene on March 22 to consider revisions to the constitution and the election of state leadership, state media reported.
The gathering of the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) follows a five-yearly gathering of the ruling party last month which elevated leader Kim Jong-un’s powerful younger sister Kim Yo-jong to a top position.
Last weekend, 687 deputies were “elected” to the SPA, with all North Koreans over 17 given the choice of approving or rejecting the sole candidate put forward by the ruling party.
The candidates were duly approved with 99.93% of votes in favour and 0.07% against, the Korean Central News agency (KCNA) reported, with turnout at 99.99%.
The result reflected citizens’ “ardent desire and self-confidence to reliably defend their glorious state political system”, the news agency said.
It followed the ninth Workers’ Party congress in February, which directs efforts on everything from diplomacy to war planning and which closed with a grand military parade.
The SPA is expected to formalise decisions made in that congress, Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said.
“The regime appears intent on swiftly codifying the decisions of the party congress,” Hong added.
The gathering elevated 38-year-old Yo-jong – long considered one of her brother’s closest lieutenants – to department director within the party’s apex central committee, according to KCNA.
The SPA will also deliberate on the re-election of Jong-un as president of the State Affairs Commission, the authoritarian country’s top state post, and possible revisions to the constitution, KCNA said.
The possible constitutional amendments could include formally codifying inter-Korean relations as those between “two hostile states”, analyst Hong said. — AFP
