North Korea will hold a major parliamentary meeting on Thursday, according to local media, amid the possibility of a shift in the communist nation's policy and the lineup of leader Kim Jong-un's top aides.
  

Last month, the North announced a plan to open the third session of the 13th Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang on April 9. The SPA is the legislative body of the reclusive country, composed of 687 deputies from across the nation.
  

It is the highest organ of state power under the North's Constitution, even if it actually rubber-stamps decisions by more powerful organizations, such as the National Defense Commission and the Workers' Party of Korea.
  

The North's Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday that participants have already gathered in the capital and paid tribute at the statues of the country's late leaders -- Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il -- on Mansu Hill.
  

It has not confirmed yet whether the meeting has started.
  

Thursday's session would be the fifth of its kind since Kim Jong-un took power in late 2011. He attended all of the sessions except for the fourth gathering held half a year ago.
  

This time, the North may unveil legislation on a new economic policy aimed at improving the living standards of the nation's 24 million people.
  

"Every year, North Korea has convened the SPA meeting around April and discussed budget issues and also handled affairs related with organization and legislation," South Korean unification ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said at a press briefing.
  

North Korea watchers say Pyongyang may also appoint new officials at top state bodies.
  

In the previous session, Hwang Pyong-so, director of the general political department of the Korean People's Army, was appointed vice chairman of the National Defense Commission.
  

Meanwhile, Hwang appears to have solidified his position as the North's second-most powerful man behind Kim Jong-un.
  

Delivering news on a national meeting earlier this week to mark the 22nd anniversary of Kim Jong-il's election as the chairman of the NDC, the KCNA called Hwang a vice marshal and member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party. (Yonhap)