This is the full text of Finance Minister Ko Jong Bom’s state budget report that was presented at the 6th session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly on 6 February 2022.

ON THE EVALUATION OF THE EXECUTION OF THE STATE BUDGET
OF THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA FOR
JUCHE 110 (2021) AND THE STATE BUDGET FOR JUCHE 111 (2022)

REPORT ON THE STATE BUDGET MADE BY
DEPUTY KO JONG BOM, FINANCE MINISTER

I will report on the evaluation of the execution of the state budget for Juche 110 (2021) and the state budget for Juche 111 (2022).

By having the entire people follow the path of the march indicated by the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea to firmly conduct the general offensive to raise the banner of self-reliance higher, achieve new innovation, bold creation and constant advance and open the breakthrough to carry out the five-year plan in order to increase the economic potential of their sectors and units and the state, the state budget for Juche 110 (2021) was successfully executed.

Last year, the state budget income increased by searching for and mobilizing sources of financial income while completely including all production and service units into the state budget system and the state investment was concentrated on invoking the potential power of the independent economy and stabilizing the people’s lives to the maximum amid the emergency anti-epidemic measures that were completely set up.

Last year, the state budget income was executed at 100.2% which grew to 101.1% compared to 2020.

Amid the flared up enthusiasm of the ranks for the general march to overcome the piled up difficulties and surely complete the militant goals for the first year of the five-year plan to firmly defend the authority of the Party Congress, many factories and enterprises overfulfilled the state budget payment plan and the provinces, cities and counties executed the local budget income plan at 100.1% by firmly conducting the work to highly support the line of the Party to strengthen cities and counties and mobilize resources and materials to the maximum in line with the characteristics of their areas to develop the local industry and agriculture and increase the sources of income.

Last year, the state budget expenditure was executed at 99.9%.

Compared to 2020, 100.4% of the budget funds were used for the economic construction to equip the independent structure for the state economy and stabilize the people’s lives.

This contributed to energetically propelling the construction of houses and completing the construction of important projects including the third stage construction for improving Samjiyon City, the 10,000 houses in Songsin and Songhwa districts, the 5,000 houses in Komdok area and the houses in flood-damaged areas in North Hamgyong and South Hamgong provinces by satisfactorily supplying the predicted funds as planned to the construction sector in line with the unfolding of the large-scale construction of important projects to shine the era of the Workers’ Party of Korea in order to show the strong spirit of socialist Korea and the powerful potential of our independent economy.

While concentrating investments on the metallurgical and chemical industrial sectors which make the basis of the independent economy, the relevant funds were spent by 100.6% compared to 2020 in order to financially support the struggle to normalize the current production in the key industry sectors and produce many more grain and people’s consumer goods in the agricultural and light industry sectors.

Investments for the scientific and technological sector which is the main power for the development of the state economy was increased to 101.6% compared to 2020 to resolve not a few scientific and technological issues that were presented in strengthening the existing economic foundations and improving and raising the people’s lives in order to contribute in developing the economy and improving the people’s lives.

Compared to 2020, 101.8% of the funds were spent in developing socialist culture including making the emergency anti-epidemic work the top priority in the state work and strongly conducting it, improving the educational conditions and environment and improving the material and technological foundations of the health sector.

The war deterrents were further strengthened in terms of quality and quantity and 15.9% of the total expenditures was used in the work to secure the state in order to contribute in defending the dignity and security of the country and the people.

Achieving valuable improvements and results and successfully executing the state budget in all fields of socialist construction including managing the state economy in a stable way and achieving great successes in the agricultural and construction sectors that were emphasized by our Party even amid the difficulties in developing the economy of the country last year are the noble fruits of the wise leadership of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

There were faults in executing the state budget last year.

Some units fell short in their budget income plan due to the shortage of the resolve of the officials to unconditionally carry out the state budget income plan.

Biases appeared where the economic guidance institutions did not establish the correct method to reasonably use economic spaces as demanded by realistic development.

With the faults from last year, we found the serious lesson that the economy of the country can never be raised to a normal track if economic guidance officials do not break away from wrong ideological view and work attitude of being obsessed only with the interests of their sectors and units while distorting the Party’s principles of self-reliance and self-sufficiency.

This year, we are facing the important task of financially assuring the overall development of our style of socialism that was presented by the 4th plenary meeting of the 8th Party Central Committee.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un said: “The state budget should be innovatively set up in line with the sources of income and demands for funds based on the lines and policies of the Party.”

This year, the state budget organized the budget income and expenditures to further strengthen the emergency anti-epidemic work and the state defense force and innovate the cultural field including science, education and health while concentrating investments on the socialist rural construction and the important sectors of the people’s economy.

The state budget income is predicted to grow to 100.8% more than last year and, from this, income from transactions which is the basic item of the budget income will increase to 100.6% and profits from state enterprises will increase to 100.9% to take 83.5% of the total income.

In addition, profits from cooperative organizations are predicted to be executed at 100.4%, depreciation expenses at 100%, real estate tax at 100.3%, social insurance at 100.2% and income from special economic zones at 100%.

With the central budget income being 73.9% of the state budget income, income through the central economy will take an overwhelming share, and the provinces, cities and counties will guarantee their expenditures and provide funds to the central budget using their own income.

The state budget expenditures will increase to 101.1% compared to last year.

Compared to last year, investments for the economic construction was increased to 102% to press the leading of the state economy towards independent and complete development.

This year, the budget items for the agricultural sector were organized by separately creating and drastically increasing them compared to last year in accordance with the demand of carrying out the strategy of our Party for rural development to financially assure the execution of the important actions taken by the Party to rapidly improve the rural areas throughout the country.

The state budget smoothly guarantees the necessary financial demands in propelling more firmly the adjustment and improvement work for the production foundations while energizing the current production in the key industrial sectors such as the metallurgical, chemical, electric power, coal and machinery industry and railway transport and the important sectors of the people’s economy including the light industry and the fisheries industry.

Investments for the scientific and technological sector was increased to 100.7% compared to last year to press the development of technologies that have a great significance in developing the economy and improving the people’s lives in order to strongly tow the general march of self-reliance.

This year, the necessary funds were guaranteed as planned in strongly propelling the construction of important projects such as the construction of houses, the construction of energy-saving oxygen heat blast furnaces and installation of oxygen separators at the Kim Chaek Steel Complex and the Hwanghae Steel Complex, the construction of the project to establish the C1 chemical industry and the first stage construction of the Tanchon Power Station.

15.9% of the total expenditure will be used for strengthening the state defense force to defend the country and the people, contain any threat and challenge and reliably defend peace through our strength.

In the state budget for this year, expenditure items to respond to the worldwide health crisis including pandemic diseases were separately created and increased to 133.3% more than the funds that were spent for the emergency anti-epidemic work last year to prepare the financial assurance to actively push the work to lead our epidemic prevention to an advanced and popular anti-epidemic system.

Compared to last year, 100.4% of the relevant funds is predicted for the work to completely develop the socialist culture and the education sector increased to 102.6%, the health sector to 100.7%, the cultural sector to 100.3% and the sports sector to 100.8% to raise the entire people to become firm persons who are responsible for the socialist construction with high creative power and cultural standards.

For this year also, many educational assistance and stipends will be sent to the children of compatriots in Japan in order to continue pressing the development of the democratic national education of the Chongryon.

Officials should financially assure the struggle of our people to correctly execute the state budget for this year to build the firm assurance for carrying out the five-year plan and bring clear changes in developing the state and improving the people’s lives.

By completely executing the state budget for this year with the iron faith and will that victory is certain because the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un is leading our struggle at the front, we will financially support the general offensive of the entire people to set up a respected and independent power that has nothing to envy in the world as soon as possible.