A representative from Kim Il Sung University stated that North Korea has dispatched artificial intelligence (AI) researchers to Russia.
Kim Kwang-hyuk, Deputy Minister of the Department of Information Science at Kim Il Sung University, responded during an interview with the Choson Sinbo, a publication of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, on the question of whether international cooperation in the institutional sector of AI technology is underway, saying, "We are sending students and interns, as well as researchers, to countries including Russia."
However, he noted, "The institutional sector of information technology, especially the institutional sector of artificial intelligence technology, has become a key item of the United Nations Security Council sanctions, which is creating obstacles to international cooperation," and added, "Despite the undue sanctions of hostile forces that prevent us from accepting global research achievements and hinder the advancement of our scientific and technological development, we are steadfastly continuing our research projects."
The United Nations Security Council's Resolution 2321, adopted in November 2016, prohibits scientific and technological cooperation with North Korea. However, it appears that North Korea is continuing its cooperation in science and technology, including AI, as it tightens its ties with Russia through the dispatch of troops to Ukraine.
Kim noted that North Korea's level of AI technology has become popularized. He stated, "In everyday life, programs such as voice recognition, text recognition, and machine translation have already been spread and popularized." The translation program developed by the institute, named "Ryongma," is said to be capable of translating between seven languages, including English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, German, French, and Spanish, in both directions. It has reportedly been installed on mobile phones since 2021.
Kim stated, "Now is the era of transition to generative artificial intelligence technology," and added, "Our institute is also actively conducting research on generative artificial intelligence technology. What we aim for is to develop generative artificial intelligence technology based on Korean that is practically helpful to the people."
Meanwhile, on this day, the Choson Sinbo revealed a photo titled "Medical service support AI robot introduced to pharmacies in Pyongyang." An object, which is unclear whether it is a simple mannequin or a humanoid robot, is seen standing with a laptop. Kim stated, "In the health sector, the master plan for an intelligent medical service system to inform and upgrade medical services at the upcoming Pyongyang General Hospital has been developed at a higher level."