Russian has become a mandatory subject in North Korean schools, according to a top Russian official, in the latest example of the two countries expanding their alliance beyond the frontlines of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

North Korean students are now required to study Russian starting in fourth grade, Russian ecology minister Alexander Kozlov reportedly said Thursday during a session of the intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation. 

Kozlov oversees Russian-North Korean cooperation projects as a co-chair of the commission alongside his DPRK counterpart Yun Jong Ho.