North Korea state media says there is an 'important report' amid key party meeting

FILE PHOTO: Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un attend a farewell ceremony before Putin's departure at an airport in Pyongyang, North Korea June 19, 2024. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea's state news agency said in a one-line dispatch on Sunday there was "important news" but did not provide details.

Leader Kim Jong Un is presiding over a key meeting of the ruling party to review the performance of the party in the first half of the year.

In a separate report on Sunday morning following the "important news" dispatch, KCNA news agency said that Kim made a speech on the focus of the second half of the year during the party's gathering and addressed "deviations" hampering stable economic development. KCNA did not provide further details about his speech.

The meeting comes after Kim's recent summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin where the two signed a pact including a pledge of mutual defense if either is attacked.

An official at South Korea's Unification Ministry that handles inter-Korean affairs said there were no further comments to give on KCNA's report on "important news."

(Reporting by Ju-min Park and Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel Wallis)