DPRK parliament to hold rare meeting: KCNA

The parliament of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will hold a rare session next month, state media said Thursday, as a dramatic diplomatic thaw with South Korea and the US gains pace.

The Supreme People's Assembly, the country's legislative body, meets only once or twice a year, mostly for day-long sessions to approve budgets or other major decisions deemed necessary by the ruling Workers' Party.

"The sixth session of the 13th Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will be convened in Pyongyang on April 11," the official KCNA news agency said.

This combination of pictures shows DPRK leader Kim Jong Un (L) and US President Donald Trump. /VCG Photo‍

The announcement comes after a rapid rapprochement on the Korean Peninsula kicked off with the recent Winter Olympics.

South Korea has proposed high-level talks next week between the neighbors to discuss details of an inter-Korean summit in late April, including the meeting's date and agenda. Seoul is also sending a troupe of K-pop performers to Pyongyang for a four-day visit, officials have said, to stage the first performances by South Korean artists in the North since 2007.

South Korea and the US have announced a plan to resume annual joint military exercises on April 1, with its main drill shortened by a month – in an apparent conciliatory gesture.

(AFP)