BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhuanet) -- The DPRK's Supreme People's Assembly has passed a series of measures aimed at making a stronger economy and nuclear defense capability the nation's top priorities. Former premier, Pak Pong-ju, has been re-appointed to head the cabinet in a bid to boost the economy and consolidate the country's status as a defensive nuclear state.

DPRK leader Kim Jong Un gathered legislators in Pyongyang on Monday for an annual spring parliamentary session.

The Supreme People's Assembly re-appointed former premier Pak Pong-ju to head the cabinet.

Pak took the post of premier in 2003 but was sacked in 2007 for failing to implement ambitious economic reforms.

As a a career technocrat, Pak's re-emergence at the top of the country's Cabinet signals that he will play a key role in economic policy planning once again.

On national defense, the country's top legislative body adopted an ordinance on Consolidating the Position of a Nuclear Weapon State.

The assembly also endorsed the establishment of "the DPRK State Space Development Bureau." It stated that it is the DPRK’s legitimate right to engage in space exploration and that the country is determined to become a major world power in this arena.

(Source: cntv.com)