North Korea says it will hold a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party Central Committee late next month to discuss the country's key policies.
The party's newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on Saturday that the decision was made during a meeting of the Political Bureau of the party the previous day, with leader Kim Jong Un in attendance.
The plenary meeting of the Central Committee will be the first since last December. It will be reportedly held to "conduct an interim review of the work in the first half of this year and discuss and decide a series of important issues, in order to successfully implement this year's orientation of state affairs."
Decisions concerning diplomatic relations with the United States ahead of the presidential election in November will be a main focus of attention. Military policies based on the five-year defense plan, which has entered its fourth year, is another focus of attention.
Meanwhile, participants at Friday's meeting reportedly presented immediate tasks for the North Korean armed forces to credibly defend the national sovereignty and security, and underlined the need to responsibly carry them out.
A South Korean military official said on Friday that they had detected suspected signs that the North is preparing to launch a military spy satellite at a launching station in Tongchang-ri. Relevant countries are stepping up their monitoring.