North Korea’s leading university is seemingly inviting applications for two English-language doctoral research positions for foreigners, but amid several inconsistencies and the absence of official confirmation, doubts have arisen about the legitimacy of Pyongyang’s apparent courting of international students.

According to an announcement posted on Chinese social media last month, Kim Il Sung University’s Faculty of Social Sciences is accepting applications until June 30 for two PhD students looking to research the Juche Idea, North Korea’s founding principle of self-reliance.

Pyongyang has long been keen to promote its national ideology in other countries through support for academic research and conferences