North Korea seeks to boost English education with robot teachers – ‘Enhance intelligence’

“I help teach educational technology that enhances children’s intelligence,” said the 80-centimetre (31.5 inches) tall robot in a female voice, waving its arms.

With scowling blue eyes and a North Korean flag across its chest, the toy-like robot is seen roaming around a classroom.

Two other similar plastic robots with a humanoid appearance seem to be part of the same program.

One featured a smiley face on a screen embedded inside a white round head, while another wore a blue plastic suit and white-rimmed glasses, the KRT footage showed.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has been pushing for education reform in recent years by spurring technological and scientific innovation.

The news outlet interviewed a university professor who said developing the robot teachers was a real challenge as some

“Upgrading this robot’s intelligence was difficult for me as someone who majored in psychology,” said Professor Park Kum Hee.

“It was the words of our respected Comrade General Secretary (Kim Jong-Un) on adopting artificial intelligence technology in education that has always guided me on the right track.”

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While local news praises the country’s technological achievements, North Koreans are facing a starvation crisis.

“Problems such as more orphan children on the streets and death by starvation are continuously being reported,” Lee Sang Yong, editor-in-chief of the Daily NK, told the BBC.

“The lower classes in North Korea are suffering more and more,” as food shortages are worse than expected, Mr Lee said.