N. Korea to hold parliamentary meeting on Jan. 17

This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, shows North Korea convening a meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang, Oct. 7. Yonhap

North Korea plans to convene a meeting of its rubber-stamp parliament in Pyongyang in January to discuss next year's tasks and budget issues, according to its state media Wednesday.

The standing committee of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) held a meeting Tuesday and decided to hold the 8th session of the 14th SPA on Jan. 17, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The session will mainly discuss issues related to tasks for next year, state budget issues and organizational matters, it added.

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