North Korea Parliamentary Elections Achieve 99.99% Turnout

North Korea held parliamentary elections on March 15, drawing a reported 99.99 percent voter turnout nationwide, as the country prepares for its first session of the newly elected Supreme People's Assembly on March 22.

State media outlet Korean Central News Agency announced the results, stating that voting concluded at all constituencies by 6 p.m. local time. The election selected 687 deputies to the assembly, which handles legislation and policy oversight across government sectors. In practice, the body serves to endorse decisions made by the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, the ultimate authority in the isolated nation.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un participated in the vote at a polling station in the Chonsong Youth Coal Mine, part of the Sunchon Area Youth Coalmining Complex in South Pyongan Province, west of the capital Pyongyang. Accompanied by senior officials including party secretaries Kim Jae Ryong and Ri Il Hwan, as well as his influential sister Kim Yo Jong, Kim cast his ballot for Jo Chol Ho, the mine's manager and a deputy candidate. Kim Yo Jong, who analysts view as a key voice in diplomatic matters on her brother's behalf, was among the elected deputies.