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N. Korea parliament session to begin amid focus on nuke, economy+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)BEIJING, April 10_(Kyodo) _ North Korea's annual parliament session is set to begin Tuesday in Pyongyang, amid a continuing standoff over the North's nuclear ambitions and speculation the country will embark on further economic reforms. Analysts say that during the upcoming session of the Supreme People's Assembly, they will be looking for clues as to whether leader Kim Jong Il's trip to Chinese boom towns in January has prompted the country to take new steps to boost its decrepit economy. Another point they will be looking out for is any reference to the nuclear issue, as the parliament session comes at a time when the six-party talks on North Korea's programs remain stalled, they say. "There are signs that something is going to happen" in the economic area, said Andrei Lankov, a professor at South Korea's Kookmin University, referring to the North's reported moves to set up new economic zones. "We cannot be sure whether these are all true, and even if they are, whether they will be mentioned in the session is another matter," Lankov said. "It is unlikely that major announcements will be made, but I am not ruling out that possibility either," he added. Speculation of possible changes to North Korea's economic policy was fueled after Kim toured economically flourishing cities in China's south, which were visited by former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1992 during his "southern tour." Other North Korean economic missions have visited China since then, the most important being a 30-member group led by Jang Song Thaek, Kim's brother-in-law and a senior official of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. Kim had also visited China prior to implementing far-reaching economic reforms in 2002, in which North Korea raised wages, cut back the use of its public distribution system and gave more freedom for companies. The question on the nuclear front, meanwhile, is whether Premier Pak Pong Ju will refer to the issue in his speech to parliament, and how he will do so if he does, the analysts say. The speech will come at a time when Pyongyang is refusing to return to the six-party nuclear negotiations unless the United States lifts sanctions it imposed on entities suspected of laundering money and counterfeiting for North Korea. North Korea dismisses the allegations of the illegal activities, while the United States says the sanctions are a law-enforcement issue that should not be linked with the nuclear negotiations. The most likely scenario is for North Korea to refer to "U.S. imperialism" as it has done in past speeches, and perhaps complain about "a new provocation" by the country, referring to the sanctions, Lankov said. Chief negotiators of the six-party talks are visiting Tokyo this week to coincide with an international academic conference. Some of them have held bilateral meetings to discuss ways to advance the six-party process. The six-party talks involve the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. |