The DPRK’s Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) is expanding its Chinese language teaching, the school said in a statement Sunday, becoming the first institution in the country to offer the standardized Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) test.

In a move that comes amid a broader expansion of cultural exchanges between Pyongyang and Beijing, Saturday reportedly saw 45 PUST students take the HSK, following an inauguration ceremony for the new test site last week.

That event, attended by Chinese ambassador to the DPRK Li Jinjun and other top officials, as well as 200 teachers and students from the university, saw the two