More unadulterated tosh and sheer baloney from the mainstream (or if you like imperialist or bourgeois) media . Headlines screaming ” North Korea’s economy contracts by most in 21 years: report” .
This was supposed to have happened in 2018. I have visited the DPRK both in the time of the ‘arduous march ‘ (which the mainstream media incorrectly refers to as a “famine” and in 2017 , 2018, 2019 . The DPRK economy is clearly more developed than then and despite the sanctions overall in a better situation with more shops , more diversity in products and new factories opened .
Visiting the DPRK in September 2018 our delegation rather than seeing a contracting economy saw a fast growing and vigorous economy .
In April this year the state budget was discussed at the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK and it was reported that ‘A the plan of state budgetary revenue for last year was successfully fulfilled at 101.4 percent, 4.6 percent increase over the previous year.’ so there is no contraction . The report to the Supreme People’s Assembly also said that ‘State investment in key projects of the country was increased by 4.9 percent over last year to financially support such main projects of the country as sprucing up Samjiyon County, building the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist area and the Orangchon and Tanchon power stations and setting up modern tree nurseries in provinces.
Investment in the sci-tech field was increased by 7.4 percent over last year, contributing to producing research findings propelling the sci-tech development and activating national economy’
What a load of rubbish to say that the DPRK economy is contracting !
Thanks to Juche and self-reliance the DPRK will survive and prosper and grow stronger despite the sanctions
