A full meeting of the Chosun Workers' Party Politburo convened in Pyongyang yesterday, Rodong Sinmun reported this morning. The meeting put in place the last pieces of the puzzle before the opening session of the 13^th Supreme People¡¯s Assembly, which begins in the North Korean capital this morning.

According to a brief article carried by KCNA, the Politburo meeting discussed three key matters: ¡°the issue of reinforcing the organization so as to increase the leadership role and function of the Party;¡± a ¡°proposal for forming a state leadership body;¡± and an ¡°organizational matter.¡± No further details were made public. All the proposals, which the KCNA report notes were agreed upon unanimously, will now go forward to the Supreme People¡¯s Assembly for ratification.

As ever, there is great speculation as to what actions today¡¯s SPA session will take. The institution has a broad constitutional remit, including dealing with budgets, legislative changes, and establishing the core of domestic and foreign policy. It also has the right to appoint or recall officials from state institutions such as the National Defense Commission (NDC) and Cabinet.

However, it also has limited functionality, and is beholden to decisions handed down to it by the Party. Given that in recent years it has focused mainly on rubber-stamping policy concerning Kim regime idolization, this time it is expected to follow suit.

In particular, the first meeting of any SPA is sure to reaffirm its loyalty to the Kim-led system first and foremost. For instance, at the time of the first meeting of the 12^th SPA in April 2009, an upcoming ¡°Important Broadcast¡± was announced at midday. Thereafter, it was revealed with some fanfare that former leader Kim Jong Il had been re-elected chair of the NDC.