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According to RIA Novosti, Russian children will be sent to a summer camp in North Korea at the end of July.
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The initiative follows a new strategic partnership agreement between Russia and North Korea.
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The camp includes a statue of North Korea’s founder, an aquarium, a beach and an archery range.
A group of Russian school children go to a summer camp in North Korea at the end of July, Grigory Gurov, the chairman of the Movement of the First, told Russian state media RIA Novosti.
According to a RIA Novosti Telegram messageGurov said a large number of Russian children will come to the camp, where he said conditions will be “excellent.”
Gurov, who leads the youth movement started by Russian President Vladimir Putin also said in December 2022 that the North Korean summer camp would be the equivalent of Artek.
Artek is a youth center in Crimea that used to be a camp for the Young Pioneers, a communist organization for children during the Soviet era.
Gurov told Russian State News Agency TASS that Russian children will be sent to the Songdowon International Children’s Camp. The trip is tentatively scheduled for July 24 through August 2.
According to Website of SongdowonThe camp exists to “help North Korea develop relations with foreign countries.”
It says international visitors from Russia, China, Thailand, Mongolia and Mexico are welcomed every year and their accommodations are subsidized by the state.
The website states that the campsite has a statue of Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Koreasurrounded by children, a large water park, an archery range, an aquarium and a beach.
Songdowon did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
Gurov also told TASS that Russia would invite North Korean children to visit Russian summer camps, including Artek and others, as part of an exchange program.
He said there are also plans to send children to other Russia-friendly countries, including Vietnam and China.
Last month the two countries signed a strategic partnership agreementwhich North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said brought their relationship to a “new height of alliance.”
The new agreement includes a clause requiring the countries to come to each other’s aid if there is aggression against any of them.
It also established guidelines for deepening ties in the political, trade and investment fields, cultural and humanitarian fields, and in the field of security, according to TASS.
Russian tourists of all ages can also vacation on North Korean beaches this summer, according to an April RIA Novosti Telegram message.
It was said that tour programs have been developed that last from eight to twelve days.
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