>Alexandre Fenelon wrote:
> > The absurd doctrine o self suficiency in a 20 million inhabitants
> > country and the massive military spendings ruined the North Korean economy.
>
>And just why, I wonder, was all that military spending needed?
The USA keeps 37,000 troops in South Korea at a cost to the American taxpayer of about $3 billion per year (not counting the costs of the development of military hardware, software, recruitment, training, intelligence gathering, etc.). Therefore, the combined military expenditure of the USA & South Korea is roughly $16.03 billion (based on the figures made public _alone_), while North Korea devotes 25% of its GNP and still manages to spend only $5.66 billion. And I'm not even counting the military expenditures of Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, etc. & the U.S. expenditures to maintain its presence in them. Get the U.S. out of the Asia-Pacific theatre, and you'll make it possible for the North Koreans to decrease their military spending drastically.
***** North Korea South Korea
Population 23.9 million 43.5 million
GDP (1994) $21.3 billion $508 billion
Military Expenditure (1994) $5.66 billion $13.03 billion
Military 25 3.6 Expenditure (1994, percent of GNP)
Regular armed forces 1.2 million 633,000
source - Washington Post, March 4, 1997 *****
Yoshie