A North Korean youth delegation has departed for Russia to participate in the International Youth Festival in Yekaterinburg, in another sign of expanding people-to-people ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.
The delegation is led by Paek Un Chol, chairman of the Central Committee of North Korea’s Socialist Patriotic Youth League, according to Russia’s embassy in Pyongyang. The group is scheduled to take part in the festival from September 11 to 17, 2026, while also holding contacts with Russian public and youth organisations.
Youth ties deepen alongside strategic partnership
The visit comes as relations between Russia and North Korea continue to deepen across political, economic, cultural and military spheres.
The two countries recently opened their first road bridge across their shared border, a 1-kilometre crossing over the Tumen River designed to expand transportation, trade and other exchanges. Russian and North Korean officials described the project as a major symbol of their increasingly close relationship.
The youth delegation’s visit also follows a series of youth and student exchange programmes between the two countries. Russia’s National Youth Council says such programmes are intended to strengthen mutual understanding, exchange experience in youth policy and build professional connections between young people from both countries.
Broader Russia-North Korea cooperation
The growing youth exchanges are taking place against the backdrop of a much broader strategic partnership. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have repeatedly pledged to strengthen bilateral cooperation, while Moscow and Pyongyang have highlighted their shared opposition to what they describe as Western pressure.
North Korea has also provided military support to Russia during its war in Ukraine, according to South Korean and Western assessments. Reuters reported this week that Kim praised North Korean troops involved in overseas operations, amid continuing reports of North Korean military assistance to Moscow.
The latest youth delegation therefore represents a softer, civilian dimension of a relationship that has become increasingly important to both governments.
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