North Korea recalls overseas students for indoctrination for first time in 5 years: Unification Ministry

Citizens stroll down a street of Pyongyang in this photo taken on Sept. 19, 2018. [YONHAP]

North Korea appears to have issued a directive for its students studying abroad to return to their home country to resume ideological education for the first time in five years, South Korea's Unification Ministry said Wednesday.

"Measures halted due to the border closures caused by Covid-19 are now being resumed," a Unification Ministry official said.

South Korean news outlets reported earlier that North Korea is planning a political training session related to Kim Jong-un's regime at the Grand People's Study House in Pyongyang later this month.

In the past, North Korea periodically summoned students studying abroad in countries such as China and Russia to Pyongyang during summer vacations for ideological education to encourage further indoctrination. These activities were suspended in early 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent closure of the country's borders.

This recent move is seen as part of Kim Jong-un's directives to tighten control over the younger generation in their 20s and 30s to prevent ideological deviations. It may also be an effort to curb defections among young elites.

The South Korean government is closely monitoring the potential impact of this measure on North Korean students.

When North Korea reopened its borders last year and significantly replaced diplomats and resident workers stationed abroad, a series of defections among elite overseas workers occurred.

"We are closely observing related trends in North Korea," the South Korean official said.

BY LEE YOO-JUNG, SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]