A major Russian resource exploration company and a Siberian university will provide advanced training to North Korean geologists, including at the facilities of a firm specializing in locating deposits of uranium ore.

The DPRK professionals will spend two weeks combining “theory and practice” in a program focused on solid mineral geology, Irkutsk National Research Technical University (INRTU) stated in a press release on Monday.

The university already hosts North Koreans studying information technology, energy, mechanical engineering and chemical technology, while also maintaining academic links with South Korean institutions, according to its website.

The training program was launched last week as