As announced in December, North Korea’s parliament met on Feb. 6 and 7 to approve the national budget and laws on overseas compatriots and child care. According to the state media report, the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) did not discuss anything else, and neither the budget report nor setting revealed especially exciting news.

Yet as so often with North Korea, some details stood out from the meeting that provided insight into policy and leadership developments within the country. For one, the budget suggested that “money collection,” likely referring to market fees, could become an important revenue source