Almost 250 Russian children have arrived at the Songdowon children’s camp in North Korea, the government of Russia’s Primorsky region in the country’s Far East said on Monday.
The children, from both the Primorsky region and other parts of the country, are due to spend the next 10 days at the camp.
“A busy, exciting programme awaits the children. They will be involved in activities strengthening the ties between the two countries…. They will be ambassadors and show the North Korean children Russian culture in all its glory,” the Primorsky region authorities said.
Camp Songdowon is located on North Korea’s east coast, near the city of Wonsan and features a water park, aquarium, sports complex, zoo, cinema and playgrounds, the Primorsky authorities said.
The activities planned for the children’s stay include a Korea Day, a Russia Day, a talent show and a Friendship of People’s Evening.
Those attending the camp won their places in a competition held by The Movement of the First, a Russian youth organisation created in 2022 on the initiative of Vladimir Putin. In order to win a trip to North Korea, children were required to write an essay on one of three subjects: the role of Russia in a multipolar world; why they were interested in North Korea; or what they would like to tell North Korean children about Russia.
Primorsky Governor Oleg Kozhemyako first suggested Russian schoolchildren attend North Korean summer camps in September 2023, independent media outlet 7x7 said earlier this month.
Ties between Moscow and Pyongyang have grown notably closer in the past year as Russia has sought a stable supply of ammunition for its ongoing war in Ukraine, culminating with Vladimir Putin making a state visit to the isolated country’s capital last month.