North Korea is planning to launch new artificial intelligence (AI) departments at its universities, according to a report published on July 9 by Rodong Shinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party.
The report stated that education reform was a key topic during the 12th enlarged plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee, held at the end of June. The article emphasized the need to reorganize and consolidate university departments and introduce new programs, specifically in the field of AI technologies, to foster talent aligned with the country’s development goals.
North Korea, which is already known for its elite cyber capabilities, has demonstrated increasing interest in AI as part of its broader technological ambitions.
On June 27, Kim Il Sung University published a post on its official website Ryongnamsan, noting that its AI Technology Research Institute aims to develop tools that can eventually replace human intellectual labor by leveraging GPT technology.
This follows earlier publicity by the institute in February, when it showcased the use of ChatGPT, the conversational AI developed by OpenAI, during an interview with North Korea’s external media outlet, Voice of Korea. At the time, Han Chol-jin, a researcher at the university, noted that tools like ChatGPT offer insights into how to absorb advanced technology and adapt it to local needs.
North Korea’s leading scientific publisher, the Central Information Agency for Science and Technology, also featured ChatGPT in the latest issue of its bimonthly journal “World of Science” (Issue No. 2, 2025). The special feature, titled “The Present and Future of Artificial Intelligence,” included an in-depth analysis of GPT-4 and its implications.
In the article, researcher Kim Seol-kyong stated that GPT-4 had already passed the Turing Test, a classic benchmark for measuring machine intelligence. She predicted that AI tools like ChatGPT would continue to improve at an extraordinary pace, eventually surpassing expectations for machine intelligence.
BY MOOYOUNG LEE, YONHAP [lee.mooyoung@koreadaily.com]
