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| Prototype of the M-SAM System (File Photo) |
SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's defense budget in 2018 would rise the most in nine years to counter rising threats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), financial ministry said Tuesday.
According to the 2018 budget plan submitted by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance to the National Assembly, a total of 43.12 trillion won (38.3 billion U.S. dollars) was allotted to the defense budget next year.
It was up 6.9 percent from the previous year, marking the fastest yearly increase since 2009.
Costs to improve defense readiness stood at 13.48 trillion won for the 2018 defense budget, up 10.5 percent from the previous year, while the military management costs would grow 5.3 percent to 29.64 trillion won.
Among the defense improvement costs, 4.36 trillion won would be spent next year on budget to counter the DPRK's nuclear and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats.
Read the full story at Xinhua