N. Korea picks candidates for deputies to rubber-stamp parliament ahead of elections

This image, captured from footage of North Korea's state-run TV station on Tuesday, shows North Koreans preparing to elect deputies for the Korean People's Assembly set for Sunday. Yonhap

North Korea has completed the selection of candidates for deputies to a new term of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) ahead of its rubber-stamp parliamentary elections, state media reported Friday.

North Korea announced a list of candidates for the 15th SPA deputies as the country is set to hold the parliamentary elections Sunday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korea typically holds parliamentary elections every five years, but the upcoming vote will mark the first in seven years. The elections come as a follow-up to last month's key party congress.

"The registration of candidates for the deputies was decided at meetings of voters to examine qualifications for such candidates," the KCNA said.

North Korea held what resembles a primary to select a single candidate for the deputies in each constituency after reviewing qualifications of multiple candidates.

The KCNA said the country's provincial election committees disclosed details of the final candidates for the SPA deputies at polling stations, and campaigns to profile them are under way.

North Koreans aged 17 and older are eligible to vote in the parliamentary elections. But the voting is widely seen as a formality, as only a single candidate runs in each constituency.

The SPA is the highest organ of state power under the North's constitution, but it actually only rubber-stamps decisions by the ruling Workers' Party.