What did Kim Jong-un say at Kim Il Sung University on its 80th anniversary?

Kim Jong-un said the university should help build a powerful and prosperous country and should stand in the vanguard of that struggle. He also praised it as North Korea’s highest dignified educational institution.

Why is Kim Il Sung University important in North Korea?

The university was founded on Oct. 1, 1946, and is North Korea’s first institution of higher education. It is named after Kim Jong-un’s grandfather and North Korea’s founder, Kim Il-sung.

What did Kim Jong-un urge Kim Il Sung University to do beyond domestic education?

He urged the school to expand exchanges with elite universities and science research institutes in other countries. He also said educational development and sci-tech sovereignty are crucial for North Korea’s present and future.

N. Korea's Kim urges top university to lead building of 'powerful' country

Listen

Summary

Kim Jong-un visited Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang to mark its 80th founding anniversary and urged it to help build a powerful and prosperous country. He called the school North Korea’s highest dignified educational institution and told faculty and students it should stand in the vanguard of the struggle for that goal. He also stressed educational development, sci-tech sovereignty and expanded exchanges with elite foreign universities and research institutes.

Key Facts

Kim Il Sung University was founded on Oct. 1, 1946, and is North Korea’s first institution of higher education.
Kim described educational development and sci-tech sovereignty as the most important and decisive factors for the country’s present and future.
He said building an educational power, a sci-tech power and a talent power is one of the three essential requirements for developing Korean-style socialism.
Kim called for a new phase of socialist education in the new era with high and qualitative development of the university.

By Yonhap

Published Oct 1, 2026 3:21 pm KST

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center right, meets with senior officials of Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang Wednesday, as he arrives at the school to take part in a ceremony to celebrate the North's top university's 80th founding anniversary, in this photo released by Korean Central News Agency the following day. Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited Kim Il Sung University to mark its 80th founding anniversary, urging the school to help build "a powerful and prosperous" country, state media reported Thursday.

Calling the university the country's "highest dignified educational institution," Kim told the faculty and students on Wednesday that the school "should stand in the vanguard of the honorable struggle" for that goal, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Founded on Oct. 1, 1946, and named after Kim's grandfather and North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung, the university is the North's first institution of higher education.

"The building of an educational power, a sci-tech power and a talent power is the three essential requirements and basic guarantee for the development of Korean-style socialism insisted by our Party at present," he said.

He described "educational development and sci-tech sovereignty" as "the most important and decisive" factors for the country's present and future.

Kim also called for a "new phase of socialist education in the new era with high and qualitative development of the university."

In addition, he urged the school to expand exchanges with "elite universities and science research institutes in other countries" as the country's "finest" educational institution.

Explore More