This photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, shows leader Kim Jong-un (C) presiding over a consultative meeting of senior officials of the Party Central Committee and provincial committees of the party in Pyongyang the previous day. (Korean Central News Agency)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a consultative meeting with top officials to discuss economic policies for the second half of the year ahead of a key party meeting, state media said Tuesday.
Kim urged the officials to make "devoted efforts" to improve the economy at the meeting Monday with senior officials of the Central Committee and provincial committees of the ruling Workers' Party, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
"The consultative meeting, on the threshold of the plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee, had an intensive check on the detailed situation of every field in regard to the implementation of main policies for the latter half of this year, and discussed the practical issues to cope with the situation," the KCNA said.
Kim also laid out a plan to bring about a "tangible change in stabilizing the state economic work and people's living with the plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee as an occasion," it added.
The KCNA, however, did not provide the details of Kim's plan.
Top officials attended the meeting, including Premier Kim Tok-hun and Jo Yong-won, secretary for Organizational Affairs of the party's Central Committee.
This marks the first time the North has held such a consultative meeting under the current leader, a unification ministry official said.
"It appears to be part of a process of strengthening the sense of policy alignment between the central government and cities, as well as counties, and to strengthen its executive ability," she added.
North Korea earlier said it will hold a plenary meeting of the ruling party's Central Committee in early June, without mentioning a date, to review overall state affairs for the first half of the year and to take measures to solve pending economic issues.
The official also noted that it is unusual for the North to hold a third plenary meeting as it typically convenes the meeting once or twice a year.
The ministry will keep a close watch on the discussions at the upcoming plenary meeting, the official said. (Yonhap)
