North Korea has announced that it will hold its Supreme People’s Assembly, which is equivalent to South Korea’s National Assembly, next month. However, the proposed constitutional amendment concerning the two hostile states between North and South Korea—mentioned by Kim Yo Jong, deputy director of the Workers’ Party, in her statement on August 14—was not included in the agenda for this session.
The Workers’ Party’s official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on Wednesday that the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly convened a plenary session on Tuesday at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang. During this session, it was decided to convene the 13th meeting of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly on September 20. Choe Ryong Hae, chairman of the Standing Committee, presided over the plenary session, which was attended by vice chairmen Kang Yun Seok and Kim Ho Chol, secretary general Ko Gil Sun, and other cabinet officials.
The Standing Committee announced that next month’s Supreme People’s Assembly will address issues related to the adoption of the Grain Management Law and the Intellectual Property Law, as well as matters concerning the supervisory inspection of the enforcement of the Urban Management Law.
Meanwhile, the proposed constitutional amendment regarding the two hostile states was not mentioned on the agenda for this Supreme People’s Assembly. Previously, Kim Jong Un, the party’s General Secretary, had defined inter-Korean relations as a hostile relationship between two warring states during a party plenary meeting at the end of 2023. He had instructed that the constitution be amended in the following year’s Supreme People’s Assembly to designate South Korea as the primary hostile nation and an unchanging main enemy. However, this amendment process has not been fully implemented, even after more than a year.
Recently, on August 14, Kim Yo Jong stated in a speech that North Korea’s national law should express and permanently establish South Korea as the most hostile threat to its identity. This led to speculation that the amendment process might progress in the upcoming Supreme People’s Assembly.
According to the newspaper, during the plenary session, in addition to discussing the convening of next month’s Supreme People’s Assembly, the agenda also included the Marine Ecosystem Conservation and Management Act, the Low-Interest Credit Act, the Technology Trade Act, and the Multi-Child Family Support Act. All of these items were reportedly adopted unanimously.