North Korea has convened a key meeting of the ruling Workers' Party to discuss policy issues, including diplomatic and defense strategies, with leader Kim Jong Un in attendance.

The Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported on Saturday that the plenary meeting of the party's Central Committee opened the previous day in Pyongyang.

The paper said the meeting will review the work of all sectors, including the economic field, in the first half of the year, as well as diplomatic and defense strategies to "cope with the changed international situation."

South Korea's Yonhap news agency says participants are expected to discuss plans to strengthen ties with friendly nations such as China and Russia to counter the United States and South Korea.

The committee's previous plenary meeting was held over four days in February. It is rare for North Korea to hold two plenary meetings in the first half of the year.

North Korea announced on May 29 that the meeting would take place in early June. Some observers say it was likely pushed back after the country's failed attempt to launch what it called its first military reconnaissance satellite on May 31.

It is not known whether Kim, who appeared in public for the first time in about a month, will deliver a speech at the meeting that mentions relations with the US, as well as Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development programs.