A voter uses an ID card to register to cast their ballot at the "3.26 Pyongyang Cable Factory" during voting for the Supreme People's Assembly elections, in Pyongyang on March 10, 2019. AFP-Yonhap

North Korea has launched election committees ahead of nationwide local elections set for next month, Pyongyang's state media reported Monday.

The committees were organized in constituencies for the July 21 elections to choose new deputies for provincial, city and county assemblies, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The North held the previous such elections in 2015, when 28,452 deputies were chosen for four-year terms.

Voters queue to cast their ballots at the "3.26 Pyongyang Cable Factory" during voting for the Supreme People's Assembly elections, in Pyongyang on March 10, 2019. AFP-Yonhap

Local assemblies in the North meet once or twice a year to decide their budgets and other regional issues. They also choose the heads of each province, city and county.

Elections in North Korea are considered a formality. The official voter turnaround in the 2015 local elections was 99.9 percent, with 100 percent voting for their candidates.

In March, North Korea held nationwide elections and chose 687 new deputies to the Supreme People's Assembly, its rubber-stamp parliament. About half of the previous deputies were replaced with new ones. (Yonhap)