Putin will send Russian children to North Korean “summer camps” where they will be expected to polish statues of leaders and do forced exercises as part of blossoming relations with Kim Jong Un
Vladimir Putin will send Russian children to a summer camp in North Korea, where they will polish statues of leaders and do forced exercises.
The plans were announced by Grigory Gurov, the head of Putin’s First Youth Movement, despite objections from Russian parents concerned about sending their children to North Korea, the Telegraph.
But Gurov insisted: ‘The conditions there are good.’
According to reports, the children will attend Songdowon Camp on the east coast of the country, which is said to be a combination of a Disney water park and a guesthouse with an early alarm clock.
This is the latest sign that relations between Putin and Kim Jong-un are improving, following the Russian leaders’ visit to North Korea last month.
Vladimir Putin (left, pictured with Kim Jong Un) will reportedly send Russian children to a summer camp in North Korea, where they will be expected to polish statues of leaders and undergo forced exercises
Children participate in a cooking class at Songdowon International School Children’s Camp on August 22, 2018 in Wonsan, North Korea
Schoolchildren play in the water at the Songdowon International Children’s Camp in the city of Wonsan, North Korea, in this undated photo released by the Korean News Agency
In Songdowon, which was built in 1960 by Kim’s grandfather, children are required to wake up at 6:30 a.m. and start their day by cleaning statues of Kim’s father and grandfather, the former dictators of North Korea.
“We were given special attention and were given not brooms but special sponges, and we were allowed to clean the statue ourselves,” Artem Samsonov, a former Communist Party official, wrote about his visit to the camp in 2015.
Samsonov, who was jailed in 2022 for child abuse, also posted photos of Russian children polishing a statue.
He also indicated that children would be required to participate in exercises, other cleaning tasks and state-approved lessons.
According to Samsonov, they could also go to a disco, but there they would probably only get soup, rice and potatoes.
By sending Russian children to North Korea for summer camp, Putin is moving another step closer to Kim.
Last month, North Korea pledged to send military personnel to Ukraine within weeks to bolster Putin’s war-weary forces as both sides struggle to make a decisive breakthrough.
Pyongyang will take an unprecedented step by sending construction and engineering services to occupied areas of Ukraine as early as July to help with reconstruction, South Korean TV Chosun reported, citing a government official.
This rare pledge of foreign support follows President Vladimir Putin’s official state visit to North Korea – the first in nearly a quarter century – which resulted in the signing of a so-called defense pact on June 19.
The treaty obliges signatories to “provide prompt military and other assistance by all means in their power” should a country “become a state of war through an armed invasion.”
The lobby of the Songdowon International Children’s Camp dormitory is painted in pastel colors, Tuesday, July 29, 2014, in Wonsan, North Korea
Kim Jong Un is pictured during an earlier camp visit in Songdowon
North Korean girls in similar swimsuits stand under a shower at the Songdowon International Children’s Camp, Tuesday, July 29, 2014, in Wonsan, North Korea
During his visit, Putin reportedly promised to send children from his organization, the First Youth Movement, to North Korea.
Founded in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin aims to closely connect children with the Kremlin’s ideology.
Members wear red berets and matching scarves and are often given a flag to carry during state functions.
However, many of the children’s parents have expressed concerns about sending their children to North Korea, even if only for a summer camp.
One parent joked on social media that the only way out for their child would be to “walk through the jungle to South Korea.”
Another user tried to reassure her fellow parents by saying the camp was “good” and had pools and water parks after she visited in 2017.
She even compared it to Artek, a Russian youth camp in occupied Crimea: ‘Only with a different culture and no internet at all.’