North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly elections see 99.99% turnout as Kim Jong Un votes at a coal mine, praising workers as the core of national development.

ISTANBUL: The country has held elections for its Supreme People’s Assembly, the legislature that formally approves state policy and appoints top officials.

According to state media reports, nearly 99.99% of eligible voters cast their ballots in the election held on Sunday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un cast his ballot at a polling station at the Chonsong Youth Coal Mine to choose deputies for a new term of the assembly.

He was accompanied by key officials, including party secretaries Kim Jae-ryong and Ri Il-hwan, as well as his sister, Kim Yo-jong.

The parliamentary elections, typically held every five years, marked the first such vote in seven years following last month’s key party congress.

Kim voted for Jo Chol-ho, the manager of the youth coal mine and a candidate for the Supreme People’s Assembly.

Praising coal workers as the “core element of national development,” Kim stressed that coal is a “driving force” of the country’s self-reliant economy.

Kim served as an assembly deputy until the 13th parliamentary elections in 2014 but has not run for a seat since the 14th elections in 2019 following a constitutional revision.

 The Sun Malaysia