North Korea’s parliament approves Kim Jong-un’s development plans

The Supreme People’s Assembly unanimously supported the five-year plans and a cabinet reshuffle revealed during last week’s Workers’ Party congress

Kim also called for longer-range intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear-powered submarines, spy satellites and tactical nuclear weapons

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Members of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly attend a meeting in Pyongyang, to rubber-stamp decisions made during a major ruling party meeting. Photo: AP

Published: 11:22am, 18 Jan 2021Updated: 11:22am, 18 Jan 2021

North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament has passed decisions made by a major ruling party meeting where leader Kim Jong-un vowed to bolster his nuclear deterrent and established plans to salvage a dismal economy.

The North’s Korean Central News Agency said on Monday that members of the Supreme People’s Assembly on Sunday unanimously supported the development plans for the next five years that were revealed during the Workers’ Party congress that ended last week.

The assembly also approved a major reshuffle of the cabinet, which Kim had criticised over failures in economic policies. KCNA said six of the cabinet’s eight premiers were replaced.

North Korean premier Kim Tok Hun, who has led the cabinet since August after his predecessor was sacked, said during a speech at the assembly that “serious mistakes” were observed while the cabinet implemented the previous five-year development plan that ended last year.

Reports and images from state media suggested Kim Jong-un did not attend the assembly. State media also did not mention a reshuffling of the State Affairs Commission, the government’s highest decision-making body that is led by Kim.