North Korea to Hold Parliamentary Election After Key Party Congress Shake-up

The election of representatives to the 15th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) will be held March 15, the Korean Central News Agency said, citing a decision by the parliamentary standing committee.

The formation of a new parliament will follow a weeklong congress of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea held last month, which is the country's highest decision-making body, where the North laid out key policy goals for the next five years.

North Korea typically holds a parliamentary session after a party congress to translate party decisions into law and carry out a personnel reshuffle to implement them.

The upcoming parliamentary session is expected to see Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the SPA standing committee, relieved of his post after the 76-year-old longtime cadre was excluded from the party's central committee, along with other senior officials, in a major generational shift in leadership.

Jo Yong-won, a party secretary known as one of leader Kim Jong-un's closest aides, is seen as a likely successor to Choe.

A major focus of attention will be whether Kim will be named president, the top state seat reserved so far for founder Kim Il-sung, as the SPA makes key personnel decisions.

The SPA is also seen as likely to codify the regime's policy defining the two Koreas as "hostile countries" into the constitution, after Kim first announced the stance in 2023, which led to hostile policies toward Seoul.

Since 1990, the number of SPA representatives has been set at 687, encompassing workers, scientists, educators or other members of the public from various sectors, as well as senior government officials.

Becoming an SPA member is regarded as a rite of passage into the regime's inner power circle.

North Koreans aged 17 or older are eligible to vote in the parliamentary election, which typically takes place over a single day.

The voting, however, is seen as largely a formality, as only a single candidate runs in each constituency.

Voters are required to place the ballot in the ballot box if they approve of the candidate. Otherwise, they must draw a line through the candidate's name, a process that effectively makes the voting non-secret.

Leader Kim is currently not an SPA member after being excluded from parliament in the previous election, marking the first time a North Korean leader has not held a seat since the country's founding seven decades ago, Yonhap news agency reported.

Once the new parliament is formed, the North is expected to convene a parliamentary session. The first meeting of the current 14th SPA was held about a month after the election.

- IANS