North Korea Holds Supreme People's Assembly... Prospects for Follow-up Measures After Party Congress

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The 4th session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea will be held on the 17th.

Korean Central News Agency reported that on the 16th, the deputies participating in the 4th session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly laid flowers at the statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on Mansudae Hill in Pyongyang together with Choe Ryong-hae, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly.

Unlike before, there have been no separate reports indicating that the deputies have arrived in Pyongyang to attend the meeting.

It is expected that the 687 deputies, who have been staying in Pyongyang since the 5th to participate in the 8th Party Congress held over eight days and subsequent commemorative events, will attend the Supreme People's Assembly session immediately.

The Supreme People's Assembly holds a regular session around April every year to formally "approve" the decisions of the Workers' Party through constitutional and legal amendments, appointments to major state organs such as the State Affairs Commission and Cabinet, and budget approval.

This session, following the 8th Party Congress (January 5?12), is also expected to carry out follow-up measures such as personnel appointments and budget approval.

North Korea announced the agenda for this session includes organizational (personnel) issues, adoption of laws related to the five-year national economic development plan, last year's budget settlement, and this year's budget. Since constitutional amendments are not included in the agenda, it is reported that the State Affairs Commission system chaired by Kim Jong-un is likely to remain unchanged.

Considering the significant reshuffling of the leadership at the Party Congress, personnel matters related to the State Affairs Commission and the Cabinet are expected to be the core agenda items for discussion.

However, there is also a possibility that Chairman Kim may not attend this session, as he was not included among the deputies of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly elected in March 2019 for a five-year term.