South Korea's National Assembly will convene its first parliamentary session of the year in the coming hours.<br />The 30-day session comes after a two month-long standstill at the Assembly,... and rival parties have a LOT to work on.<br />For more, we connect on the phone to our political correspondent Kim Min-ji.<br />Min-ji, so lawmakers will finally get back to work?<br /><br />That's right.<br /> plenary session will be held this afternoon to mark the start of the March session.<br />And from next Monday,... the chairs of the three negotiating parties will give speeches on their respective agendas and viewpoints.<br />The following week, the rival parties will hold a four-day Q&A session with government ministers... on a range of topics, including foreign affairs and economic issues.<br />The National Assembly has been stuck in limbo since January due to partisan wrangling over a number of issues,... such as allegations of government surveillance of civilians, a controversial appointment of a senior election watchdog official without a confirmation hearing by the president,... as well as alleged real estate speculation by a former ruling party lawmaker.<br />Parties have yet to find common ground on those issues,... but they decided to normalize the assembly amid mounting public criticism that they are constantly bickering and generally being unproductive.<br /><br />There's a long to-do list having been in deadlock for so long. What are some of the issues the parties will be tasked with in March?<br /><br />Yes,... rival parties have their plates full so cooperation and flexibility will be key for the session to bear fruit.<br />For starters, the parties have agreed to work on non-contested bills related to the fine-dust crisis in South Korea,... and have them ready for a full floor vote next Wednesday.<br />They include bills to designate severe fine dust air pollution as a national disaster -- which would allow the government to inject state money when an urgent expenditure arises.<br />The parties have also agreed to consider using reserve funds to provide supplies,... such as anti-dust masks,... or air purifiers to the underprivileged,... and if necessary,... draw up a supplementary budget.<br />The policy chiefs of each party will be meeting this afternoon to agree on the most urgent bills that need to be passed.<br />Another pending issue is the reform of the electoral system,... as well as the approval of economy-related bills.<br />That's all from me for now, back to you Ji-yoon. <br />
