N.Korea holds parliamentary meet 2 days later than scheduled

Seoul, April 13 (IANS) North Korea held a session of its Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) two days later than originally scheduled, state media reported Monday without explaining why the meeting was delayed.

Leader Kim Jong-un apparently did not attend the meeting held on Sunday as the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the country’s No. 2 leader, Choe Ryong-hae, presided over the session.

The SPA session had originally been scheduled to take place on Friday, Yonhap News Agency reported.

In Monday’s report, KCNA gave no reason why the session was delayed.

The South Korean Unification Ministry handling inter-Korean affairs said that the date for the SPA meeting might have been adjusted due to some unspecified “political schedules” for the country.

No major decisions were announced either during Sunday’s meeting, such as a message to the UA amid long-stalled nuclear negotiations between the two countries or measures related to efforts to prevent an outbreak of the coronavirus.

The KCNA said that Sunday’s meeting dealt with budgetary and personnel affairs issues, including electing the country’s Foreign Minister, Ri Son-gwon, as a member of the State Affairs Commission, the North’s most powerful decision-making body led by Kim.

The SPA usually holds a plenary session every April, mostly to deal with the state budget and Cabinet reshuffle, said the Yonhap News Agency report.

Last April when Kim attended an SPA session and made a policy speech, urging Washington to come up with a new proposal in their nuclear talks.

This year’s parliamentary session was held despite concerns over the coronavirus pandemic and Pyongyang’s intensifying efforts to block an outbreak of the infectious disease on its soil.

North Korea is among just a few countries in the world that claim to have no coronavirus infections.

–IANS

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