North Korea has mandated Russian as a foreign language for its elementary school children – a further sign of Moscow’s increasing ties with the hermit kingdom stemming from its invasion of Ukraine.

“The Russian language has been introduced in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea schools as a compulsory language for study from the 4th grade,” said Alexander Kozlov, Russia’s minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Interfax is reporting .

Kozlov, who is co-chairman of the intergovernmental commission between Moscow and Pyongyang, said Russian is typically one of the three most popular foreign languages in North Korea, with about 600 people currently studying it.

Russian has been made a mandatory school subject in North Korea beginning in the fourth grade. AFP via Getty Images

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