Ignorance of the rules of supply and demand in the regulation of the value of goods, and a planned economy directed by decrees from the central government. Thus, concentration of resources towards military production created a serious imbalance, a critical lack of production of consumer goods. An unusually large proportion of their revenue consumed in construction of monuments to the elder and junior Kims, essentially nonproductive activity. Total cessation of aid from the socialist bloc after the collapse of socialism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and inability to procure necessary raw materials in the face of increasing demands for trade based on hard currency. There is no purpose other than deceit in North Korea's claims of a transition period, formulation of which is virtually impossible given the present state of affairs.
Great priority is given to stopping the additional contraction of the economy.
Truth is withheld frequently in consideration of the party's vested interests and propaganda purposes, as maintenance of the esprit de corps of the populace. Public announcements are habitually characterized by deliberate deception. Budget planning is based on the total sum of the amounts demanded by each and every government office for every conceivable purpose, which can greatly exaggerate the actual size. Recent budgets have been inflated by increasingly greater proportions. Secret manufacture of opiate narcotics is conducted by the powerful military, National Security Bureau, and the police.