N. Korean parliament to convene in April

By Kim Ji-soo

North Korea said Friday it will call its parliament next month, heightening speculation on whether heir apparent, Kim Jong-un, will further solidify his power base.

The North’s official media, Korean Central news Agency said that the Supreme People’s Assembly will be held on April 7 for its fourth session. The North’s parliament is largely ceremonial, held in spring to assess the North’s spending for the previous year and set the next year’s budget.

But North Korea watchers will keenly be alert for any possible changes in the status of 20-something heir including a position within the powerful National Defense Commission.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, 69, currently serves as chairman of the National Defense Commission. The post of first vice chairman of the commission remains vacant after Jo Myong-rok passed away in November 2010.

Since suffering a stroke in 2008, the North Korean leader’s health is fragile and Pyongyang has been taking steps toward a power transition to his youngest son.

Jong-un made his political debut when he was elected vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the North’s Workers’ Party last September. He was also elevated to the rank of four-star military general. But he did not assume any position within the powerful National Defense Commission.

Pyongyang in April 2009 revised its constitution to expand and strengthen the powers of the National Defense Commission and its chairman. The revised constitution defined the chairman as the “highest leader of the republic,” and gave the powers governing the regime’s overall projects, signing or abandoning agreements with other countries and of special amnesty.

The North is also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The news of the North parliament’s fourth session also comes amid rumors that the Jong-un will soon travel to China, the North’s main benefactor to obtain approval for the power succession.

There have been signs of the North undergoing some political changes since last September and the political emergence of the heir.

The regime said earlier this week that it had dismissed its police chief, citing health problems. High-ranking officials in Pyongyang maintain their posts until death.