In early April, a delegation from Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, led by Vice-Rector Evgeniy Lyubin, visited Pyongyang. During the visit, the parties agreed on the conditions for training Korean specialists in Saint Petersburg under the postgraduate program “Modern Techniques and Technologies in Mining and Oil and Gas Engineering”, as well as for several dozen students under basic higher education programs.
The basis for establishing such cooperation was provided by the decisions of the 12th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the DPRK, adopted in November 2025 in implementation of the previously reached personal agreements between the leaders of Russia and North Korea.
The leaders of the two countries assess bilateral relations as a strategic partnership. This high level of interstate ties has also defined the key objective of the emerging educational cooperation: to contribute to the development of the DPRK’s economy and to improve the well-being of North Korean citizens. This goal was formulated during negotiations between the delegation of the Mining University and Comrade Kang Hyon Chol, Head of the Design and Qualification Section of the Resource Exploration Administration of the Ministry of Natural Resources Development of the DPRK, as well as Comrade Ri Myong Gwang, an official of the Science and Technology Section of the Petroleum Industry Administration.
Beginning in 2024, which the Workers’ Party of Korea declared the year of “new changes and a leap forward,” the country, by the WPK’s own assessment, has been successfully achieving the goals set under the implementation of the “policy for the development of the provinces” in the new era. One of the most important resources, in the Korean view, is mineral raw materials, which are believed to lie in abundance in the subsoil of the country’s provinces. However, their exploration and development require personnel support of a far higher quality and scale than that currently available in the DPRK.
«Today, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is prioritizing accelerated exploration and the commissioning of deposits of ferrous, non-ferrous, and rare-earth metals, as well as magnesite and graphite—reserves for which the country ranks among the world leaders. A separate vector of interest is certainly the offshore shelf; we see a drive to increase competencies in marine geological exploration and the assessment of hydrocarbon potential, including deep horizons. Our partners do not conceal the fact: the mineral resources here are extremely rich, but in order to put them at the service of the economy and the periphery development policy, the country acutely lacks not just engineers, but a new type of manager—professionals who are proficient in both deep drilling and modern data interpretation methods, including digital technologies», – said delegation member Irina Talovina, Head of the Department of Historical and Dynamic Geology.
The Korean partners formulated a list of training areas of interest for the first group of specialists. In particular, these include mineral analysis, deep drilling, digital technologies in mining, measurement techniques and interpretation of the data obtained, offshore exploration (with particular emphasis on broad and in-depth theoretical courses), programs and methodologies for reserve evaluation, and the manufacture of mining machinery and equipment. The partners asked that the subjects related to oil, gas, and solid mineral resources be divided into two separate tracks and that the volume of practical training be increased. As a result of the agreements reached, the ratio of theory to practice in the program will be approximately 1:1.5. It should be noted that the participants in the program already have higher education and around ten years of industry experience. Most of them are over forty, because each of them also has ten years of military service behind them.
Training in Saint Petersburg for the first group under the program “Modern Techniques and Technologies in Mining and Oil and Gas Engineering” will take place from September 2026 to June–July 2027. Two two-week vacation periods are scheduled for January and May 2027. Scientific practice will be held in May–June, while June–July will be devoted to the preparation and defense of the final thesis. Classes will be conducted five days a week, with 4–5 sessions daily, totaling 2,520 academic hours. The group will be divided into two subgroups: five participants specializing in oil and gas, and ten in solid mineral resources.
Modules in geology and geophysics will be included for both subgroups. The program also covers offshore oil and gas production, hydraulic fracturing, the use of Earth remote sensing data, mapping of metasomatites based on Landsat 8 satellite data, analytical methods (including both the study and preparation of samples for analysis), and interpretation of results.
The preparatory work to form the student group for study at the Mining University is to be completed by the North Korean partners within two months. The Ministry of Education of the DPRK is selecting for this group the best students from the country’s leading specialized universities, including Kim Chaek University, Chongjin Mining and Metallurgical Institute, and Sariwon Geological Institute. These institutions have departments and fields of study similar to those of the Mining University and are likewise oriented toward training highly qualified engineers for the country’s mineral resources sector. In September, the group will begin its studies at the Mining University.
«I would like to note the remarkably warm and sincere atmosphere that permeated the entire program of our visit to Pyongyang. The reception was not merely protocol-driven, but genuinely comradely. In the attitude toward Russians, one feels immense trust and openness, a desire to learn from experience, and at the same time to demonstrate readiness for major joint work. The leitmotif of all our meetings was a deep interest in training Korean specialists of the broadest profile—from solid-earth geology to the most complex processes of oil and gas engineering. Many members of our delegation remarked that the atmosphere in the streets and offices recalled the best, most tranquil years of the Soviet Union in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was a sense of dignity, solidity, and commitment to constructive work. In such an atmosphere, we have no doubt that this educational project will become yet another reliable pillar of the comprehensive strategic partnership between our countries», – said Evgeniy Lyubin.
