SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea's ruling party has kicked off a major annual meeting with economic policy on the agenda, state media reported Tuesday.

The meeting's agenda includes a review of policy implementation in 2022 and next year's budget, it added, without providing details.

This year's meeting began on Monday with Kim at the helm, the official Korean Central News Agency reported, capping a year that saw Pyongyang conduct a record-breaking wave of weapons tests that sparked concern and warnings from South Korea, Japan and the United States.

Instead of a New Year's Day speech, leader Kim Jong Un in recent years has used the year-end plenary meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea as a platform to outline policies in key areas such as diplomacy, security and the economy.

At last year's plenary, Kim focused on domestic policies, especially the economy and agriculture, instead of directly addressing the US.