FILE PHOTO: General view of the 14th Supreme People鈥檚 Assembly of the Democratic People鈥檚 Republic of Korea held at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang April 11, 2019 photo released on April 12, 2019 by North Korea鈥檚 Korean Central 黑料社 Agency (KCNA).
SEOUL 鈥� North Korea鈥檚 Supreme People鈥檚 Assembly (SPA), the isolated state鈥檚 rubber-stamp parliament, will meet on Sept. 28 to discuss economic policy and other issues, state media reported on Thursday, as the country faces mounting economic crises.
On the agenda are 鈥渕odification and supplementation鈥� of the national economic plan, as well as laws related to city and country development, education and recycling, KCNA news agency reported.
The North鈥檚 parliament rarely meets and usually serves to approve decisions on issues such as governing structures and budgets that have been created by the state鈥檚 powerful Workers鈥� Party, members of which form the vast majority of the assembly.
The decision to convene the parliament came at a plenary meeting of the SPA鈥檚 standing committee on Tuesday, KCNA said.
North Korea鈥檚 economy suffered its biggest contraction in 23 years in 2020 as it was battered by continued U.N. sanctions, COVID-19 lockdown measures and bad weather, South Korea鈥檚 central bank has estimated.
North Korea has not confirmed any COVID-19 cases, but closed borders and imposed strict prevention measures, seeing the pandemic as a matter of national survival.
In June, leader Kim Jong Un said the country faced a 鈥渢ense鈥� food situation, citing the pandemic and last year鈥檚 typhoons. This summer has seen another round of damaging storms, raising concerns that the harvest could be affected.