North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly to Convene April 11

The North Korea’s Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) has announced that the third session of the 11th Supreme People’s Assembly will be held in Pyongyang on April 11. The SPA put off the third session last month.

On April 1, the North Korean Central News Agency reported that the Standing Committee decided to hold the session on March 31, and announced, “The third session of the 11th SPA had been postponed at the request of SPA members on the front line of building a socialist nation. Now, the assembly will convene the meeting in Pyongyang on April 11 in the Juche year of 94 (Kim Il Sung was born in 1912, 94 years ago from 2005).”

Experts expect the country to clarify its stance on North Korea-U.S. relations and the six-party talks during the session. This prediction has come out, considering that the North declared its nuclear possession in a statement by the Foreign Ministry on February 10. In addition, on March 31, the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson demanded in the form of conversation that the six-way talks be changed into something similar to arms reduction talks.

taewon_ha@donga.com