North Korea parliament to convene to approve national agenda

Kim’s seemingly sudden switch from launching missiles at a record pace last year to exploring dialogue has generally been welcomed. But questions remain over how willing Kim might be to make serious compromises on his nuclear weapons program in return for security guarantees and the lifting of economic sanctions that are taking a big bite out of his country’s economy.

Pyongyang has been careful not to reveal its hand.

The first significant news of the overtures in its official media came this week, when they reported that Kim laid out his plans for dialogue with South Korea and the United States at a pre-assembly gathering of top ruling party officials on Monday. But even those reports were cautious: Trump wasn’t mentioned by name and Kim was said to have talked about the “prospect” of dialogue with Washington.

It was not immediately clear what was on the agenda for the assembly or how much of it would be made public.

State media, which only announced the date of the assembly session last month, do not generally report about the meetings until they are over. Foreign media in Pyongyang — including The Associated Press — were not allowed to cover the session independently.

North Korea’s supreme assembly is a far cry from the Western democratic idea of what a parliament should be.

The assembly, which has had 686 members since the most recent elections in 2014, generally holds one and sometimes two sessions each year.

It’s headed by Kim Yong Nam, the North’s 90-year-old senior statesman who accompanied Kim’s sister to South Korea in February to attend the opening of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. He has been the head of the assembly since 1998, and although he seems to be in good health, speculation that he may retire has been circulating for years.

The assembly is technically the highest organ of state power under the North’s constitution. In practice, it serves more to formalize whatever decisions and policies that are put before it. But it is an important means of keeping the deputies updated and informed of national priorities so that they can in turn pass that information on to their districts.

When the assembly is in session, it is common to see long caravans of buses filled with deputies being taken around the capital for tours of museums and visits to historical sites — probably a rare experience for some of the representatives of the more remote or rural areas.

State media reported Tuesday that this year’s deputies toured a revolutionary history museum, a cemetery for “revolutionary martyrs” and a teachers’ university.

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Talmadge is the AP’s Pyongyang bureau chief. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @EricTalmadge

Eric Talmadge, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

North Korea parliament to convene to approve national agenda

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