Politics 2024.1.17.

Deputy Ko Jong Bom, minister of Finance, made a report on the fulfillment of the state budget for Juche 112 (2023) and on the state budget for Juche 113 (2024), examined at the Budget Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) before the full-dress session.

The reporter noted that the state budget for Juche 112 (2023) was successfully implemented.

Last year the state budgetary revenue was carried out at 100.5 percent, increasing to 101.5 percent as against the previous year.

Many industrial establishments in the economic sector carried out the plan for central budgetary revenue by 100.6 percent and the plan for regional budgetary revenue by 100.3 percent.

Last year the state budget expenditure was carried out at 99.8 percent.

All sectors and units of the socialist economic construction provided the funds amounting to 100.8 percent, as compared with 2022, for a new upsurge while consolidating the growth level.

Funds amounting to 15.9 percent of the total state budget expenditure were preferentially allocated to the strengthening of the country’s defence capabilities.

The capital investment, a large proportion of the state budget expenditure, was increased 100.1 percent as compared with the previous year to build a second-stage 10 000 flats in the Hwasong area, Jonwi Street in the Sopho area, the Kangdong Greenhouse Farm, the Kangdong Cement Factory and many other precious edifices.

24.4 percent of the total budget expenditure was directed to consolidating the self-supporting economy while concentrating efforts on the readjustment and reinforcement of major industrial sectors, including metal, chemical, electric power, coal and machine-building industries, and the expansion of their production capacity.

Funds amounting to 100.9 percent as compared with the previous year were allocated to the field of science and technology.

The agricultural sector was provided with a large sum of funds equivalent to 115 percent of the previous year before other sectors.

Last year, too, funds amounting to 113.2 percent as compared with the previous year were allocated to building anti-epidemic capability.

36.8 percent of the total expenditure was used for the social and cultural field to contribute to implementing the Party’s childcare policy and achieving progress in the fields of education, public health, sports and culture.

Last year, warship fund, childcare fund, helping one another fund, socialist patriotic fund and other fund campaigns were launched in the whole society amid the fierce flames of the socialist patriotic movement and revolutionary mass movement, thus contributing to the prosperity and development of the country.

The state budget for this year has been organized to ensure a concentrated investment on the important sectors of the national economy which constitute the pivot of the self-supporting economy while steadily updating the military potential of the armed forces of the DPRK so as to promote the stable and sustained development and bring about a substantial change in the people’s living and to financially guarantee the work for comprehensively developing all fields including science, education, public health and culture.

The state budgetary revenue is expected to grow by 102.7 percent over last year, of which the transaction tax, a major item of the budgetary revenue, will increase by 100.5 percent and the state business profit by 103.2 percent, accounting for 84 percent of the total income.

The profits of cooperative institutions will be expected to grow by 100.2 percent, depreciation by 101.5 percent, real estate rent by 102 percent, social insurance by 102 percent, income from property sales and price deviation by 100.3 percent, income from money collection by 100.4 percent, other income by 100.1 percent and income from the special economic zones by 100.6 percent, as compared with last year.

The central budget revenue is to account for 73.7 percent of the state budgetary revenue, with the revenue from the central economy taking an overwhelming proportion and provinces, cities and counties will raise a lot of funds for the central budget while ensuring the expenditure on their own income.

This year’s state budget expenditure will increase by 103.4 percent over last year.

Investment in the socialist economic construction will grow by 102.4 percent over last year so that 44.5 percent of the total budget expenditure for this year can be spent on developing the country’s economy and improving the people’s standard of living.

15.9 percent of the total state budget expenditure is expected to spend as defense expenditure.

In 2024 capital investment will be 100.5 percent over last year to ensure the major construction projects, including the construction of 10 000 flats in Pyongyang Municipality, the rural housing construction and the project for expanding the domestic water capacity in Pyongyang.

The cost of the national economic work will be increased by 100.4 percent as compared with last year.

From this year on, the expenses for the development of science and technology are divided from those for the national economic work and set up as an independent item of the state budget expenditure. They, including the expenses for the development of space science and technology and the maintenance of space scientific research institutes, will increase by 109.5 percent as against last year.

Funds amounting to 100.1 per cent of last year’s will be allocated to the agricultural work.

The cost of anti-epidemic work for 2024 is estimated to be the level of last year.

In 2024, funds amounting to 106 percent as compared with last year will be spent in the field of education, 105.5 percent in the field of public health, 105 percent in the field of culture and 105 percent in the field of sports.

This year, too, the state will send much educational aid fund and stipends to the children of Koreans in Japan.

The reporter called on all the officials to make the state budget a realistic and effective one for promoting the overall development of Korean-style socialist construction and improving people’s living and fully provide funds needed for carrying out the 2024 tasks of the Five-Year Plan for National Economic Development.

Rodong Sinmun