N. Korea, Russia discuss ways to expand exchanges in education

SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- The education ministers of North Korea and Russia have met in Pyongyang and discussed ways to expand exchanges in the education field, the North's state media reported Tuesday, amid deepening cooperation between the two nations.

North Korean Education Minister Ri Yong-chol and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Kravtsov, held talks the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). A Russian delegation, led by Kravtsov, arrived in Pyongyang on Monday.

"At the talks, the successes and experience gained by the two countries in the field of education were shared, and the issues of further boosting bilateral exchange and cooperation were discussed," the KCNA reported, without disclosing other details.

In a separate dispatch, the KCNA said the Russian delegation toured the Pyongyang University of Education No. 2, a major educational institution for training teachers in the North, the previous day.

The two nations signed a "supplementary agreement" to establish and operate a Russian education center in North Korea under a partnership between the Pyongyang university and Russia's Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University, according to the KCNA.

North Korea and Russia have been expanding the scope of cooperation in the military, economy and other areas since they signed a mutual defense treaty in June 2024.