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 SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature approved the national budget Monday under the watch of leader Kim Jong Il, boosting defense spending to arm all its citizens and turn the isolated communist country into a "fortress," according to reports.
Kim appeared at the one-day session of the Supreme People's Assembly, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported, although he did not appear to have addressed the meeting of hand-picked loyalists.
The North originally said it would convene the parliament session in early March but postponed it without any explanation. The legislature usually meets once or twice a year to approve budgets or policy already set by the Kim regime.
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