The largest number of overseas North Koreans are students studying abroad. Many North Korean students dream of studying overseas to enhance their capabilities but only the most privileged are chosen.
According to a UN report from 2012, 1,400 North Korean students were studying abroad that year. The vast majority of these were in China followed by Russia, India, France, Germany & Australia.
For the North Korean government the goal is to gain knowledge for the purpose of advancing the state power. Historically the Soviet Union was the preferred destination for nuclear physicists – some 300 were sent to Russia from the mid-1990s to learn theories and technologies related to nuclear weapons development.
Many North Korean who have risen to the top of domestic politics have studied abroad. None other than Marshal Kim Jong Un himself who spent his school years in Bern, Switzerland.
Who get’s chosen to study abroad? Usually students with clean family backgrounds who excel academically. These are mostly children of government officials and they are expected to monitor each other while abroad.