SK, Russia in arms talks

The North's gross national income stood at 28.6 trillion won ($25 billion) in 2009, compared with South Korea's 1,068 trillion won ($958 billion).

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's ruling principle has been a policy of "songun," or putting the military first, at the expense of its moribund closed economy, Reuters said.

"North Korea has increased its military spending continuously despite its extreme economic crisis in the 1990s and its negative growth after the mid-2000s," the KIDA said.

"North Korea's actual military spending is estimated to be 13 to 15 times greater (than the amount it announced) applying North Korea's currency exchange rate in purchasing power," the report said.

North Korea, once richer than the South, has only grown weaker since Kim took power and after a famine in the 1990s killed an estimated 1 million people.

Agencies - Global Times