On December 3, 2025, during hearings in the US Senate, human rights activist and expert of the Regional Center for Human Rights Kateryna Rashevska reported that over the past two years, at least two children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine were taken by Russians to the Sondowon camp in the DPRK for "re-education". The investigative editorial office of Suspilne has established the details of these trips.
This is stated in the material of Suspilne.
The Sondowon International Childrenʼs Camp is located near the port city of Wonsan on the Sea of Japan. In 2024, amid the rapprochement between Moscow and Pyongyang, Russian tourist groups began to visit the country again, and later in the summer, Sondowon hosted a group of schoolchildren.
Officially, most of the costs of foreign childrenʼs stay at the camp are covered by the North Korean Socialist Patriotic Youth League. Foreign parents reportedly pay an additional $250 to $350 for their childʼs two-week trip.
In 2024, the Russian youth organization “Movement of the First” announced a competition “The First Go to ʼSondowonʼ”. The winners received free trips to the North Korean camp. Russian media claim that 3 500 schoolchildren aged 14–17 applied to participate. 50 teenagers were named the winners of the selection.
To participate, you had to record a video answering the question: "Why exactly should I win the contest?" and write an essay on one of the topics: "What role do I see Russia playing in the new multipolar world?", "Why am I interested in visiting the DPRK?", or "What would I like to tell children from the DPRK about Russia?"
In the summer of 2025, Russian media reported on the second trip of schoolchildren to Sondowon — as part of the “Korean-Russian friendship shift”. In 2025, the camp had two summer shifts: from July 21 to August 1 and from August 18 to 29.
Journalists from Suspilne found a list of all the children in open sources. They compared the names with other mentions of the camp in Russian publications, and some of the information was confirmed through messages in thematic Telegram chats where the children communicate.
Mykhailo from Makeyevka
Among them was a 12-year-old Ukrainian boy Mykhailo from Makiivka in the Donetsk region, which was occupied in 2014. On the first shift of 2025, he was the only child from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
Mykhailo studies at a local lyceum and actively participates in competitions dedicated to Russia. In the video, Mykhailo said that he was proud that “the DPR has become part of great Russia”, and expressed hope that the war would end with a victory for the Russian Federation.
Journalists found a post on a Russian social network where a boy talked about his trip to the DPRK. According to the boy, he learned more about the culture and traditions of both countries at the camp. The children visited monuments dedicated to the Korean War and the leaders of the DPRK — they saw five or six monuments every day.
"I really liked it. People have such a developed personality cult: they really honor Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-Il, Kim Jong-Un. People go and no one complains about anything. Everyone has everything, and everyone is fine," the boy says in the story.
Mykhailo said that all the participants in the camp exchanged contacts, but because the DPRK has its own social networks, he is unable to stay in touch with his Korean friends.
Liza from Simferopol
In 2024, the competition from the “Movement of the First” was won by 16-year-old Liza from occupied Simferopol. She wrote about it on a Russian social network, and journalists from Suspilne also found her on the list of children who were selected for the trip.
However, it is unknown whether Lisa actually went to the camp. Despite her significant activity on social networks, the girl did not mention the trip to the DPRK, although in a publication about the results of 2024 she wrote about the three Russian camps she visited.
Conditions of accommodation in the camp
Journalists learned about the living conditions of children in the camp from a video on YouTube and Russian publications. In one interview, a schoolgirl who was in the camp said that every morning at 6:30, the children had to clean and sweep around the monument to North Korean leaders — as a sign of respect for traditions and the countryʼs leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il.
Korean children, who also rested at the camp, always had to bow to the portrait of the leader, which hung at the entrance to the dining room.
The rooms, which were identical in layout and interior, were mostly occupied by five or six children. Each room had a separate shower and toilet.
In most of the videos, the children emphasized that photography and videography are strictly regulated in the DPRK. One of the video creators said that they were allowed to film everything except slogans, military personnel, and statues of leaders.
The entire time they were in the camp, the children were without communication and access to the Internet, because the DPRK has its own intranet and instant messengers.
There are special rooms with phones in the camp to communicate with their families — filming is prohibited there, however, one of the participants of the trip made a video, showing camp representatives. A minute of call, she said, cost $1, so each child turned on the stopwatch on their phone.
Camp visitors also said that among the entertainment were computer games with violent, politicized plots, for example, with the blowing up of the White House.
Deportation of Ukrainian children
It is estimated that almost 19 500 abducted Ukrainian children are currently in the Russian Federation. More than 1 600 children have been returned home.
In September, researchers discovered more than 200 Russian institutions for the "re-education" of Ukrainian children — where they assemble drones and undergo airborne training. In the detention centers, some of the children were involved in a Russian program of forced upbringing and adoption, after which they were transferred to Russian families and granted Russian citizenship.
In November, Ukraine identified 400 locations in Russia where Russians had taken abducted children. There is evidence that Belarus is also involved in the deportation of Ukrainian children.
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