Greenhouse space: how the first interregional cooperation between the Russian Federation and the DPRK will begin

A North Korean delegation is expected in Orel in 2026 to sign the first ever interregional agreement, the regional government told Izvestia. The parties will develop ties in the economy, science and agriculture. At the same time, Russia and North Korea are preparing major cultural projects: they are going to organize a large-scale Russian language contest for schoolchildren from the republic and perpetuate the names of North Korean fighters on the streets and squares of the Kursk region. What brings Russians and North Koreans so much closer is in the Izvestia article.

The first agreement between the regions of the Russian Federation and the DPRK

In recent years, relations between Russia and North Korea have been developing very dynamically. Despite the fact that Moscow and Pyongyang are already bound by a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, cooperation is expected in a new and very interesting direction — between the regions of the two countries.

The first such agreement — between the Orel region and the province of South Hwanghae — the parties are preparing to sign as early as 2026, the press service of the government of the Russian region told Izvestia. The North Korean delegation is going to go there to sign a historic agreement in response to the visit of the governor of the region Andrey Klychkov, which took place last October.

— The possibility of a return visit to the Orel region this year by a delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is currently being discussed. The possibility of signing a cooperation agreement between the government of the Orel region and the People's Committee of South Hwanghae Province is being considered, the Cabinet of Ministers of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation clarified.

The details and content of the agreement will be a key topic for discussion during the mutual visits of the delegations of the Russian Federation and North Korea, Kazbek Taisaev, coordinator of the parliamentary friendship group with the DPRK, State Duma deputy (KPRF), told Izvestia. According to him, the agreement will give a powerful impetus to interregional ties between the two countries and deepen their trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

— This year we are planning several trips to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in particular, as part of the delegations of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the UPC-CPSU. One of the key points for discussion is the signing of the first interregional cooperation agreement between Russia and the DPRK. We expect the visit of the Korean comrades to Orel in the near future," the parliamentarian confirmed.

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He added that the initiator of the agreement was Andrey Klychkov, the Governor of the Orel region and a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Membership in the Communist Party on both sides played a crucial role in bringing the two regions closer, Kim Yong-un, a leading researcher at the Center for Korean Studies at the ISSA of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in a conversation with Izvestia. In his opinion, agriculture and animal husbandry will become key areas of economic cooperation.

At the last meeting with Vladimir Putin, the head of the Orel region reported a record grain harvest: 185 c per hectare, an increase of 2.8 times in 10 years. Today, the region exports tens of thousands of tons of products — mainly vegetable oils, feed additives, dairy and meat products — to China, the CIS countries and Central Asia. Now North Korea will surely join this list. The republic, in turn, can offer a rich harvest of apples and even agricultural technologies, such as solar-powered greenhouses, says Kim Yong-un.

Scientific developments in the agro-industrial sector are also underway in the Orel region. Scientific cooperation in this sector, as well as student exchanges, may become part of a new agreement between the Russian Federation and the DPRK.

The first interregional agreement will become a logical development of bilateral relations after the conclusion of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement in June 2024, Alexander Vorontsov, Head of the Korea and Mongolia Department at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained to Izvestia.

"Regional cooperation is one of the means of expanding and intensifying economic cooperation, so it fills with concrete content the tasks that were set by this 2024 agreement," the expert said.

He recalled that today the trade turnover between the two countries is still small: by the end of 2024, it amounted to $34 million. If other regions follow the example of the Orel region and South Hwanghae Province in the future, this will significantly increase the volume of mutual trade.

Cultural projects of Russia and North Korea

The cultural and educational ties between Moscow and Pyongyang date back to the Soviet Union. In these areas, the states did not interrupt contacts even in the 1990s, when economic cooperation between the Russian Federation and the DPRK declined sharply. In recent years, cultural and humanitarian ties have reached a new level.

In June 2025, Sergey Kravtsov, the head of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, and Kim Seung-doo, the Minister of Education of the DPRK, signed a cooperation agreement. The parties agreed to develop cooperation in the field of general and secondary vocational education and vocational training, as well as vocational training, recreation and recreation for children, and the search for and support of gifted students. In November, it became known that Russian had become a compulsory subject in North Korean schools since the 4th grade. In Russia, more than 3,000 schoolchildren study Korean.

The friendship group with the DPRK said that they plan to continue working in this direction. In particular, the deputies intend to organize a Russian language competition for Korean students. "And the winners will receive a trip to Russia as a prize," Kazbek Taysayev said.

The Ministry of Education supported this initiative. They told Izvestia that the agency approves of holding contests and Olympiads to promote the Russian language in foreign countries, including North Korea. In 2015, schoolchildren from all provinces of the DPRK were able to participate in the country's first Russian Olympiad, but now, with the start of compulsory education, it is taking on a completely different scale.

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Compulsory study of the Russian language in North Korean schools will most likely require the invitation of additional specialists from Russia, Kim Yong-un notes. In 2026, the Center for Open Education in Russian will begin its work on the basis of the Kim Chol Ju Pedagogical University in North Korea, co-chairman of the intergovernmental commission of the Russian Federation and the DPRK Alexander Kozlov previously reported.

At the same time, interest in learning Korean is also growing among Russian students, says Alexander Vorontsov. In the 2024-2025 academic year, about 300 students in the Russian Federation chose it to study. The number of people who want to travel to this country is also growing dynamically.

Historical memory occupies a special place in the cultural ties between the two countries. In 2024-2025, the North Korean military actively participated in the battles for the liberation of the Kursk region.

— I am convinced that the exploits of the heroes of the DPRK should be immortalized with beautiful monuments and obelisks in the liberated towns and villages, and the restored streets and squares should be named after them — the names of those whose feat will forever remain in grateful memory and in the hearts of Russians. This is a matter of special importance. For our part, we are ready to provide all necessary assistance and support," said Kazbek Taisaev, coordinator of the parliamentary friendship group with the DPRK.

In December 2025, it became known that soldiers from the DPRK who participated in the defense of the Kursk region from the Ukrainian Armed Forces were going to erect a monument in the region.