N Korea parliament convenes amid nuclear standoff

SEOUL, Apr 11 (Reuters) North Korea's parliament convened on Tuesday, offering a glimpse into the policy priorities of the secretive state amid a stand-off with regional powers over its nuclear arms programme.

In reports carried by the official KCNA news agency, North Korea said the Supreme People's Assembly focused on the budget. Its state expenditures this year will be 3.5 per cent higher than 2005, but the communist state gave no further details.

Experts said they will look at details of the gathering over the coming days to see if there is any language indicating whether the North will embrace economic reforms inspired by leader Kim Jong-il's trip to China earlier this year.

The sessions of the assembly are usually held annually. They are highly choreographed affairs focused on budgetary matters where legislation is passed with unanimous approval and enthusiastic applause from its members.

''The government will allocate 15.9 per cent of the total budgetary expenditure for national defence so as to bolster up the People's Army,'' KCNA said, without providing figures.

Pyongyang will also try to boost its technology sector as well as agricultural production in the country that battles chronic food shortages.

Last year's meeting of the assembly focused on ways to produce more food as well as boosting the economy and military.

Among the areas of interest for foreign experts and officials will be the importance given to measures to revitalise its anaemic economy and any talk of succession to Kim Jong-il.

An item of intrigue last year was Kim's appearance at the meeting, cutting a distant figure at a session that made clear the economy was in bad shape and the focus was on the military despite efforts to feed the people.

''There might be an edict of reform or opening the country further for development reflecting Kim Jong-il's visit to China,'' said Lee Jung-chul, a senior fellow at the Samsung Economic Research Institute.

There was no report of the stalled six-party nuclear talks in initial reports of the meeting of the North's parliament.

North Korea has stated several times previously in its official media it cannot return to the talks aimed at ending its nuclear weapons programmes unless the United States drops what Pyongyang sees as a hostile policy toward it.

The envoys to the six-party talks gathered in Tokyo this week, with many taking part in a private security meeting. But the two main players, the U.S. and North Korean envoys, did not meet for substantive discussions.

Washington's envoy said the ball was in North Korea's court.

REUTERS CH PM1921