SPA is convened once or twice a year in regular plenary sessions of several days each. The Standing Committee exercises power when the SPA is in recess, which occurs during all but a few days of every year.

The SPA consists of one deputy from each of North Korea's 687 constituencies, elected to five-year terms. The Workers' Party of Korea, which the constitution recognizes as the state's leading party, dominates the Assembly in a monopoly coalition