By Lee Min-hyung
North Korea will hold a key meeting on Friday when its leader Kim Jong-un is expected to make public the hosting of the upcoming summits with President Moon Jae-in and United States President Donald Trump.
According to the Korea Central New Agency (KCNA), Thursday, the regime will hold a plenary session of the Workers' Party of Korea to make pending policy decisions.
“The regime decided to hold the session on Friday to discuss key policy issues at a key historical juncture,” the regime's mouthpiece reported. The KCNA, however, did not give details.
All eyes are on whether the young dictator will comment on the regime's upcoming summits. The latest in a series of the sessions came on October last year when Kim called for the regime to enhance its science and technology capability.
The upcoming session also comes a week before the historic inter-Korean summit on April 27. Marking the summit, the two Koreas are engaging in a series of activities to enhance the conciliatory mood and peace momentum.
In a parliamentary meeting earlier this month, Kim reportedly shared his diplomatic views on the rare peace mood between Washington and Pyongyang.
During the upcoming session, Kim is expected to make an official announcement for the upcoming summit with Trump. Chances are that he will also express his determination for its denuclearization again, as the U.S. still remains doubtful over the regime's peace declaration.
Kyungnam University professor Kim Dong-yub said: “It remains to be seen whether Kim will make any direct comments over the upcoming summit with Trump, but chances are he will express his will for denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.”
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo reportedly visited Pyongyang for a meeting with Kim ahead of the unprecedented summit between the two sides.
According to overseas reports, Pompeo held an in-depth discussion with Kim to lay the foundation for the upcoming summit between the two countries. Pompeo has also visited the regime to make it clear whether Kim's declaration for its denuclearization is true.
The exact location and timeline for the Washington-Pyongyang summit has yet to be decided. Trump has recently said that both sides are still narrowing their differences and will soon make details public.