A history teacher in the Far East Russian city of Khabarovsk created a club for students to learn about Juche, the state ideology of North Korea, Russian media reported Tuesday.
According to the club’s founder, Vladislav Kushnirenko, members of the club are currently undertaking work to “debunk myths” about the isolated country after having visited a Cold War-era summer camp in North Korea earlier this year.
“Together with the students at our school, we’ve already held our first three events,” Kushnirenko was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency. “We hope that students from other schools in Khabarovsk will join us in the future.”
According to the School No. 80 history teacher, North Korea’s consulate in the city “agreed to and supported” the creation of the club, where students work on projects with names like “The Defeat of the American Aggressors in the Taejon Operation” or “The Korean People's Army Air Forces. History, Modernity and Future.” Students also read the memoirs of North Korea’s founder Kim Il Sung.
“I’ve tried to contribute as much as possible to strengthening relations between Russia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” Kushnirenko said, using the official name for North Korea. “I’m sure that the stronger the Moscow-Pyongyang alliance is, the sooner the collapse of American imperialism will come.”
Moscow and Pyongyang have been allies since North Korea's founding after World War II and have drawn closer since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a mutual defense agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a visit to the East Asian country in June.
Meanwhile, the United States and its allies have accused North Korea of providing ammunition and missiles to Russia for its war, and the mutual defense treaty has fueled concerns about more deliveries.
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