SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's finance minister said on Thursday the government is planning to boost defence related spending for next year, days after a spike in tensions between North and South Korea that sparked an exchange of artillery fire.
Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan also said that next year's budget will be expansionary without harming fiscal soundness.
"We will also make conservative growth and tax revenue forecasts in a realistic manner," said Choi, at a meeting in Seoul with the country's ruling Saenuri Party to discuss the budget.
(Reporting by Shin-hyung Lee; Writing by Christine Kim; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
