25 September 2012
Last updated at 03:11 GMT
North Korea cannot grow enough food to feed its people
No agenda has been released, but many believe the meeting could be used to cement changes in the power structure or approve some economic reform.
The session comes months after new leader Kim Jong-un reshuffled his top leadership and replaced his army chief.
It also follows unconfirmed reports that economic changes aimed at boosting food production could be introduced.
Kim Song-chun, a member of the SPA Presidium - its top body, told the Associated Press news agency that legislators would discuss domestic and foreign policy and make personnel changes at top state bodies.
Food fears Rumours about possible economic reform in North Korea have been circling for months, reports the BBC's Lucy Williamson in Seoul.
Farmers in North Korea are currently required to hand over almost all of their production to the state, after keeping a portion for their families.
But reports on Monday - from both inside and outside North Korea - suggested they will now be able to keep any surplus after a government quota is met, creating an incentive for higher production.
North Korea was hit by severe famine in the mid-1990s and remains unable to grow enough food to feed its people. Recent flooding is thought to have exacerbated problems in some areas.
Kim Jong-un - who inherited power after the death of his father Kim Jong-il in December 2011 - has been quoted in state media as stressing the importance of improving living standards in the impoverished, economically-backward nation.
His uncle Chang Song-taek - seen by some as the key power behind the young Kim - visited China last month for talks believed to have focused on economic issues and investment.
North Korea's parliament in rare second session
North Korea cannot grow enough food to feed its people
North Korea's parliament is set to meet for a special session that observers expect to focus on economic issues.
The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) usually meets in April and a second annual session is rare. No agenda has been released, but many believe the meeting could be used to cement changes in the power structure or approve some economic reform.
The session comes months after new leader Kim Jong-un reshuffled his top leadership and replaced his army chief.
It also follows unconfirmed reports that economic changes aimed at boosting food production could be introduced.
Kim Song-chun, a member of the SPA Presidium - its top body, told the Associated Press news agency that legislators would discuss domestic and foreign policy and make personnel changes at top state bodies.
Food fears Rumours about possible economic reform in North Korea have been circling for months, reports the BBC's Lucy Williamson in Seoul.
Farmers in North Korea are currently required to hand over almost all of their production to the state, after keeping a portion for their families.
But reports on Monday - from both inside and outside North Korea - suggested they will now be able to keep any surplus after a government quota is met, creating an incentive for higher production.
North Korea was hit by severe famine in the mid-1990s and remains unable to grow enough food to feed its people. Recent flooding is thought to have exacerbated problems in some areas.
Kim Jong-un - who inherited power after the death of his father Kim Jong-il in December 2011 - has been quoted in state media as stressing the importance of improving living standards in the impoverished, economically-backward nation.
His uncle Chang Song-taek - seen by some as the key power behind the young Kim - visited China last month for talks believed to have focused on economic issues and investment.
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