South Korea's parliament approves budget rise

South Korea's parliament said Saturday it had approved a rise of more than seven percent for its 2008 budget to expand social welfare programmes and increase military spending.
A compromise between pro-government and opposition lawmakers led to a budget of 256.17 trillion won (273.5 billion dollars). It was approved late Friday, the parliament said in a statement. The budget was lower than the administration's initial proposal but up 7.46 percent from last year.
Lawmakers made a slight cut to suggested social welfare spending and proposed expenditure on cooperation projects between the South and North Korea, but increased funds earmarked for infrastructure. They also slightly increased subsidies for farmers and fisherman to ease the pressure as those sectors open up to cheaper imports.