SEOUL – North Korea’s rubber-stamp Parliament, the Supreme People’s Assembly, will convene on Sept 26 to discuss organisational matters and other issues, said state media on Thursday, as the country slowly reopens after years of pandemic lockdowns.

North Korea’s Parliament rarely meets and usually serves to approve decisions on issues such as governing structures and budgets that have been created by the state’s ruling Workers’ Party, members of which form the vast majority of the assembly.

The planned meeting comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un blasted top officials last week for their “irresponsible” response to flood damage, saying they had “spoilt” the national economy.

Mr Kim has said that such irresponsibility and lack of discipline from officials were “mainly attributable to the feeble work attitude and wrong viewpoint of the premier of the Cabinet”, raising speculation over a personnel reshuffle.

North Korea has suffered serious food shortages in recent decades, including famine in the 1990s, often as a result of natural disasters.

International experts have warned that border closures during the Covid-19 pandemic worsened matters, while international sanctions and North Korea’s focus on developing its missile and nuclear programmes have also contributed.

The agenda of the upcoming parliamentary session will include laws on irrigation, public servants, people with disabilities, and law enforcement in the financial sector, news agency KCNA said.

The decision was made at a Plenary Meeting of the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Wednesday, where members also discussed a law for “revitalising domestic tourism and expanding international tourism simultaneously”.

North Korea has recently approved the return of its citizens who were abroad after years of strict border restrictions, state media reported on Sunday, as the isolated country cracks open its border to passenger travel. REUTERS