The North Korean parliament has approved the communist state's budget for the year.

During the sixth meeting of its eleventh session Wednesday, the Supreme People's Assembly decided to raise this year's budget by 14 billion won from last year to some 451 billion won, or about 462 million dollars.

As a result, the budget for the North Korean military is expected to rise by nearly three billion won to some 71 billion, or nearly 73 million dollars. But the military's share of the budget will remain unchanged from last year at 15-point-seven percent.

North Korean Premier Kim Yong-il said his country will place top priority this year on projects to boost defense capability.

North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly usually meets once or twice a year to approve budgets or policies already set by the Stalinist regime.