According to a 2025 report by the Ukraine-based Regional Centre for Human Rights, two children aged 12 and 16 from occupied regions of Ukraine were sent to North Korea’s Songdowon International Children’s Camp, where human rights activists claim many Ukrainian children have been subjected to political indoctrination.
The UK has sanctioned Pyongyang over the scandal. London designated the Songdowon International Children’s Summer Camp, accusing the institution of “engaging in and providing support for Russia’s programme for the forced deportation and re-education of Ukrainian children.” The new sanctions package is one of the toughest to date.
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated on May 15 that Britain’s actions were “conspiratorial moves to demonise Russia” and a “intolerable insult” to Pyongyang.
Songdowon International Children’s Union Camp. Wŏnsan, North Korea stephan/flickr.com
More Than 2,318 Ukrainian Minors Missing Since the Start of the Full-Scale War
According to a Ukrainian government portal, 2,318 Ukrainian children have gone missing since the war started in 2022, while 20,570 have been deported or forcibly displaced, and 704 have been killed.
According to the aforementioned report, two children from occupied Ukraine, a 12-year-old boy named Misha and a 16-year-old girl named Liza, were transferred to North Korea’s Songdowon International Children’s Camp.
There they were taught to “destroy Japanese militarists” and met with Korean veterans who attacked a US Navy ship in 1968 and killed and wounded nine American soldiers.
The KCNA report, using Pyongyang’s anonymous foreign ministry spokeswoman, accused Britain of “unreasonably linking our children’s camping facility with the groundless issue of ‘forcible migration’ of Ukrainian children.”
British tour operator Koryo Tours states on its website that the camp, near the eastern city of Wonsan and opened in 1960, was created to assist build worldwide goodwill by hosting overseas children.
The website states the camp can accommodate up to 1,200 children at a time and attracts roughly 400 foreign guests annually from countries including Russia, China, Thailand, Mongolia and Mexico.
