North Korea to convene new assembly on March 22 to consider constitutional revision, KCNA says

REUTERS
March 17, 2026

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a visit to a coal mine run by young workers to cast his ballot in an election for the Supreme People's Assembly in North Korea, March 15, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. (KCNA handout

SEOUL--North Korea’s newly elected Supreme People’s Assembly will convene its first ‌session on March 22 to deliberate ⁠on a constitutional ⁠revision and on the implementation of a five-year national policy ⁠plan, state news agency KCNA said on Tuesday.

The assembly legislates and manages policies in all areas of government, ‌but its ⁠approval is only a formality ​for measures decided by the ruling Workers’ Party, which holds ultimate power.

South Korean policy makers and analysts have been watching for a constitutional amendment by the North that could include specifying South Korea as a separate and hostile state that would be a blow to Seoul’s push for dialogue and reconciliation.

KCNA ⁠released the ​names ​of newly elected deputies ‌to the assembly that included leader Kim Jong Un’s ‌influential sister, whom analysts believe speaks for her brother on ​diplomatic affairs.

The assembly will elect the president of the State Affairs Commission and other senior leadership ⁠and deliberate on a constitutional amendment, KCNA said.

The assembly will also review the ⁠implementation of a new five-year policy plan adopted by the Workers’ Party last month that included Kim’s vow to expand its nuclear weapons and develop stronger long-range missiles.

Kim himself was not on the list of 687 deputies who won seats in the election held on March 15.

He rules the country as the ⁠general secretary ​of the Workers’ Party, president of the State Affairs Commission, and commander in chief of the ‌Korean People’s Army. He is ​widely expected ​to be reappointed president of the Commission.

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