N. Korea's delegation of elite military academy leaves for Russia amid deepening ties

▲ This file photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on July 9, 2024, shows Kim Kum-chol (C), president of Kim Il Sung Military University, seen off by the North's military officials at the airport in Pyongyang the previous day before heading to Russia. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

N Korea-Russia-military academy

N. Korea's delegation of elite military academy leaves for Russia amid deepening ties

SEOUL, July 1 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean delegation, led by the chief of the country's major military school, has left for Russia, Pyongyang's state media reported Tuesday, amid deepening military cooperation between the two nations.

Kim Kum-chol, president of Kim Il Sung Military University, departed Pyongyang the previous day to visit the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The KCNA did not disclose the purpose of the delegation's trip, but it appears to be aimed at boosting exchanges and cooperation between military education institutions between the North and Russia.

Kim's last known trip to Russia was in July 2024, after North Korea and Russia signed a mutual defense treaty the previous month amid deepening military cooperation.

Kim Il Sung Military University, named after the North's late founder, is a training institute for military officers. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is known to have taken courses at the school after returning to Pyongyang following study in Switzerland.

Kim, the president of the military school, was among North Korean individuals added to the United States' sanctions list in December last year in connection to North Korea's support for Russia's war against Ukraine.

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