N.Korea opens key party meeting to discuss diplomatic, defence strategies

Seoul, June 17 North Korea has convened a key party meeting to discuss the country's diplomatic and defence strategies in response to the "changed international situation," with its leader Kim Jong-un in attendance, state media reported on Saturday.

Kim took part in the eighth "enlarged plenary meeting" of the 8th Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) that opened on Friday, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The meeting will discuss "the issue of the state diplomatic and defence strategy to cope with the changed international situation", and review economic projects undertaken in the first half of this year, Yonhap News Agency reported citing the KCNA as saying.

It said participants unanimously approved agenda items, and that the meeting entered discussions, indicating that it will likely be held for multiple days.

The meeting comes as North Korea has been seeking to strengthen ties with Russia and China.

Pyongyang also faces increasing security cooperation among South Korea, the US and Japan, with the three countries' defence chiefs agreeing to operate a system to share North Korean missile warning data in real time within the year as they met in Singapore early this month.

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