Analysis: Prof. Frank on the newly elected North Korean parliament

24.04.2014

Prof. Frank analyses the first session of the newly elected North Korean parliament which took place in early April 2014.

Despite the absence of major suprises, he identifies some notable developments, including: Bureaucrats still dominate the parliament; North Korea is continuing an expansionary fiscal policy; revenue from economic and trade zones is listed for the first time; the defense budget has been officially increased after many years, albeit minimally; profits from real estate rent are expected to grow much more strongly than before; the projected growth rates of expenditures on items including education, health care and social insurance are substantially reduced; and: sports are a new top priority reflected in a tripling of this item’s growth rate.

For the full article please see the following link.