North Korea and China are actively pursuing the sending of Chinese professors to Pyongyang University of Science and Technology to expand educational cooperation.
A China-based source told Daily NK recently that a contract was signed earlier this month to deploy Chinese university professors to Pyongyang University of Science and Technology for one-year terms, led by the Chinese Embassy in North Korea and the North Korean Embassy in China. The first group of faculty is expected to begin procedures for travel to Pyongyang in mid-June.
Another source said the matter has been under official discussion since early May, coordinated between the North Korean Embassy in China and the Chinese Embassy in North Korea. Both sides are also discussing practical matters regarding modernization of the educational system at the university.
China plans to deploy professors from major universities to the Pyongyang institution on a one-year rotating basis. The first group has already been selected, and officials are making individual contact with university professors for future deployments.
Chinese universities will participate not only in faculty deployment but also in establishing online lecture systems at the university. Starting in the second half of 2025, newly established subjects including basic medicine, smart agriculture and applied statistics will be conducted in integrated online and offline formats.
Multiple sources have confirmed that the North Korea-China contract includes provisions for ensuring the personal safety of Chinese faculty and expanding autonomy in academic operations.
The two sides are also discussing comprehensive support through diplomatic channels, including simplified visa issuance for Chinese faculty, guaranteed living expenses and importation of educational equipment.
One source said North Korea is showing moves to break political and economic isolation and build a foundation for national strategic self-reliance despite sanctions by strengthening educational and technological cooperation with China. This deployment project represents a symbolic signal of that effort.
Another source said there is talk within China’s education sector that North Korea is building a “knowledge corridor” for talent development in partnership with China despite U.S. and Western containment. The faculty deployment to the Pyongyang university aligns with North Korea’s talent development policies.
North Korea plans to designate the university as a “leading pilot university for global technical talent development” through this cooperation.
Some in China’s education sector believe that this cooperation comes amid the full-scale trend of “North Korea’s Chinese-style internationalization” that began when the university was designated as North Korea’s first HSK (Chinese proficiency test) testing site in 2019.
Pyongyang University of Science and Technology was established in Rakrang district, Pyongyang, in 2009 and began formal student recruitment in 2010. It is North Korea’s only private university with a significant foreign faculty.
The institution operates practical subjects including agriculture, medicine and finance on a 700,000-square-meter campus with about 60 classrooms. It currently has about 700 students and 300 faculty and staff, including about 30 foreign nationals among the teaching staff.
