North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament is convening a session on Friday, amid movement restrictions and lockdowns imposed by governments around the world in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Six-hundred-87 deputies are likely gathering in Pyongyang for the annual meeting, usually held in April, to address constitutional revisions, the state budget and Cabinet reshuffling.

Friday's session is widely expected to center on discussions to increase the state budget to improve public health infrastructure and to put forth measures to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the already-sagging economy.

While Pyongyang is one of few countries that claim to have no COVID-19 infections thanks to strict border controls and quarantine, there is growing speculation that the regime may be covering up an outbreak.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who gave a policy speech to the Assembly last year, is unlikely to attend this year's meeting, since he was not among the deputies elected to parliament last year.

Earlier in the day, the North's state media reported that Kim supervised a mortar firing drill, without giving details on when and where the drill took place.