• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Report on Implementation of State Budget for Last Year and State Budget for 2008

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS)

    Pyongyang, April 9 (KCNA) -- Vice-Premier of the DPRK Cabinet Ro Tu Chol, deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), delivered a report on the results of the implementation of the DPRK state budget for Juche 96 (2007) and its state budget for Juche 97 (2008) at the sixth session of the 11th SPA held on Wednesday. According to the report, the last year's plan for state budgetary revenue was carried out at 100.2 per cent, a 6.1 per cent increase in revenue over the previous year.
    The plan for local budgetary revenue was carried out at 110.9 per cent, thus ensuring the planned disbursement with local income and channeling enormous fund into the national budget.
    The last year's plan for state budgetary expenditure was carried out at 101.7 per cent as unexpected happenings required the additional spending of a huge amount of funds in the course of its implementation including the funds for eradicating the aftermath of flood.
    The expenditure for agriculture in the state budget for last year showed an 8.5 per cent growth and that for light industry remarkably increased as compared with the previous year.
    The DPRK government made a greater allocation of funds than plan for enforcing popular policies under the conditions where the national economy has not yet been reenergized, taking the nation's economy as a whole. This enabled the people to receive ample state benefits such as free medical care, free education, social insurance and social security.
    Last year 15.7 per cent of the total state budgetary expenditure was disbursed as military spending.
    The state budgetary revenue and expenditure for this year have been shaped on the principle of increasing the budgetary revenue to the maximum and reducing the expenditure for non-productive fields as much as possible by tapping all reserves and potentials in all fields and units of the national economy.
    This year's plan for state budgetary revenue is expected to grow 4 per cent over last year.
    The revenue from the profits of state enterprises is expected to go up 4.7 per cent over last year, that from the profits of cooperative organizations 0.4 per cent, that from the fixed asset depreciation 2.6 per cent, that from rent of real estate 3.1 per cent and that from social insurance 1.1 per cent.
    This year's state budgetary expenditure is expected to show a 2.5 per cent increase over last year and its plan has been shaped in such a way as to decisively bolster the pilot sectors, basic industrial sectors of national economy and bring about a landmark turn in improving the people's living standard, while making sustained efforts to increase the defence capability of the country.
    15.8 per cent of the total state budgetary expenditure for this year will be allocated for national defence. 49.8 per cent more than last year will go to the fields of power, coal and metal industries and railway transportation and the expenditure for agriculture is expected to go up 5.5 per cent and that for science and technology 6.1 per cent over last year. A huge financial disbursement will also be made for the light industry, capital construction and land administration and city management.
    The state budgetary expenditure for enforcing the popular policies will swell 1.7 per cent over last year. 4.2 per cent more fund than last year will be disbursed for education and financial allocation for public health will increase 5.9 per cent to steadily enforce social policies such as the system of universal compulsory free education, the system of free medical care, the system of social insurance, the system of accommodating working people at sanatoria and rest homes and the system of preferential treatment of disabled soldiers. The DPRK will thus give full play to the popular nature and advantages of its socialist state budget.
    It is expected that the government will send a large amount of educational aid fund and stipends to the children of Koreans in Japan this year, too.
    The reporter said that it is the most important way for successfully implementing the state budget for this year to improve the economic and financial management in such a way as to gain the greatest possible profits, while strictly adhering to the socialist principle.
    The reporter called for successfully carrying out the state budget to glorify this year of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the DPRK as a year of a historical turn which will go down in the history of the country.