North Korean doctors to train in Moscow hospitals, will share “secrets of national medicine” in return

Doctors from North Korea will undergo medical training in Russian hospitals as part of a new cooperation agreement between Moscow and Pyongyang. In return, North Korean doctors will share “secrets of national medicine” with their Russian counterparts, according to a statement from the Russian Embassy in the DPRK.

The statement notes that doctors from Pyongyang hospitals will train at some of Moscow’s “top medical centers.” Their internships will be concentrated at institutions specializing in cardiovascular diseases and oncology.

The Russian side also pledged to assist in the “modernization of Korean pharmaceuticals,” including support for the production of modern antibiotics. The two countries also discussed the possibility of establishing new medical facilities in North Korea.

In return, the North Korean doctors — referred to in the embassy’s post as “our Korean friends” — are “ready to share the secrets of national medicine, which in a number of cases demonstrates very high effectiveness,” the Russian diplomatic mission said.

Previous reports have indicated that North Korea is aiding Russia in treating soldiers injured in the war in Ukraine, with “hundreds” of wounded Russian servicemen undergoing treatment in the DPRK.

The healthcare initiative is just one of several areas of growing cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. North Korea’s military has deployed soldiers and equipment to Russia to support its efforts at countering the ongoing Ukrainian incursion in the Kursk Region.

Despite repeated claims from Ukrainian and Western officials, along with the corroboration of occasional social media leaks showing military IDs and images of what appear to be North Korean troops, Pyongyang has consistently denied that it has sent its soldiers to Russia. In October 2024, Vladimir Putin also avoided answering questions about North Korean troops, saying only that Pyongyang adheres to the mutual defense clause in the partnership pact between Russia and the DPRK.

According to both Kyiv and Seoul, North Korea has deployed over 10,000 troops to assist Russia, with South Korean officials pointing to signs of further deployments of soldiers and military equipment. At the end of last year, Volodymyr Zelensky announced that more than 3,000 North Korean troops had been killed while fighting in Kursk.