ANKARA

A delegation from North Korea’s most prestigious military school has left for Russia amid deepening defense cooperation between the two countries, state media reported Tuesday.

Led by Kim Kum-chol, president of Kim Il Sung Military University, it departed Pyongyang the previous day to visit the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

There was no official word on the purpose of the delegation's visit, but it appears to be aimed at boosting exchanges and cooperation between military education institutions of North Korea and Russia.

The development took place days after Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu visited Pyongyang on his second trip in less than two weeks.

Kim last visited Russia in July 2024, after North Korea and Russia signed a mutual defense treaty the previous month.

He was among North Korean individuals added to the US's sanctions list in December last year in connection with North Korea's support for Russia's war against Ukraine, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Kim Il Sung Military University, named after North Korea's late founder, is a training institute for military officers.

In a related development, North Korea's state broadcaster aired images of leader Kim Jong Un mourning over his soldiers believed to have been killed in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Released by Korean Central Television, the images showed Kim solemnly placing a North Korean flag over a coffin during a ceremony for the return of the remains of North Korean soldiers who were deployed and killed in the conflict.

Last week, South Korea’s intelligence agency claimed that North Korea is likely to send more troops to Russia in the next two months.

North Korea deployed thousands of soldiers to aid Russia in the Ukraine war following the signing of a strategic partnership treaty by leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang in June 2024.

Russian security chief Shoigu recently said that North Korea will send 6,000 personnel to Russia, including 1,000 combat engineers and 5,000 military builders, to assist in mine clearance and reconstruction efforts in the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.

In April, South Korea’s spy agency claimed that North Korea likely suffered around 4,700 casualties while fighting alongside Russian forces in the Russia-Ukraine war, with 600 of those being confirmed fatalities.