Seoul, July 06: North Korea has spent over 700 million dollars on rocket and nuclear tests since April, a South Korean newspaper estimated on Monday.
The seven rocket tests on Saturday alone cost an estimated 43 million dollars, South Korean daily Chosun Ilbo reported citing government figures.
The launch of a long-range rocket in early April cost around 300 million dollars and the country’s second nuclear test, carried out on May 25, cost as much as 400 million dollars, the report said.
The estimated figure of 700 million dollars for the tests so far this year would have been enough to alleviate North Korea’s food shortages for two years, the newspaper added.
Three hundred million dollars would buy 1 million tons of rice on the world market, it said.
North Korea launched seven rockets over the Sea of Japan in a period of 10 hours on Saturday in defiance of UN resolutions.
—–Agencies