Kim to tighten grip on power with constitutional amendment
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang, Wednesday. Yonhap
Rubber-stamp Assembly may revise Constitution for Kim
By Lee Min-hyung
North Korea held the first session of its top legislative body Thursday to carry out a major reshuffle of ranking officials and approve its latest economic policy drives.
As of Thursday, the North's propaganda media outlets have yet to release official statements for the session. But the regime's Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) is expected to have possibly endorsed a series of agendas with a focus on its economic growth.
They include a constitutional amendment to make North Korean leader Kim Jong-un the formal head of state. The SPA is also expected to have brought the regime's recent “self-reliant” economic growth plans to the session agenda.
On Wednesday, the North's young dictator underlined the importance of establishing a “self-reliant” independent economy, in a bid to tackle heavy sanctions imposed by the international society.
“We need to deal a severe blow to any hostile forces that misjudge sanctions can subdue the North,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted Kim as saying in a meeting with ruling Workers' Party members, Wednesday.
The hostile rhetoric came in the wake of Kim's failed Hanoi summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. The two failed to sign a deal in their second meeting in February due to their different views on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
The session came at a critical juncture when momentum is stalled for denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang. The U.S. and South Korea are paying close attention to Kim Jong-un's possible announcements over the deadlocked nuclear talks.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in will also discuss details to deal with the deadlock in a summit with Trump, which falls Thursday (local time in Washington, D.C.).
Signs of military parade
On Wednesday, a U.S. think tank released recent satellite imagery suggesting the North may prepare for a military parade sometime in the near future.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hinted at the possibility the North may carry out a military show of force either on April 15, the birthday of the regime's founder Kim Il-sung, or April 15 when the North's Korean People's Army was founded.
“A military parade displaying a new weapons systems, including long-range ballistic missiles, may indicate the regime's retrenchment towards a hardline position and reluctance to denuclearize,” a CSIS report said.
North Korea has for years carried out military parades to display its ballistic missiles and a series of other weapons, in an apparent show of force to its enemies.
The U.S. and South Korea have particularly kept a close watch on the regime's military events, viewing the regular parades as one of its most threatening and provocative gestures.
If the North pushes ahead with the military parade, this will likely have a negative impact on the ongoing nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang.
Ever since the two sides engaged in the nuclear talks last year, the North has refrained from conducting any provocative acts that it views would get in the way of the “peace talks” with Washington.
A South Korean military official declined to comment on the recent actions by the North.
A military official said Thursday that “as of now, no details have been confirmed over the report” that North Korea will possibly be preparing for the military parade soon.