North Korea seeks to boost education with toy-like robots

Seoul – A toy-like robot with scowling blue eyes and a North Korean flag across its chest roams around a classroom at a university in Pyongyang in a recent demonstration of tools aimed at helping children learn basic math, music and English. The footage, broadcast by North Korean state television KRT, also showed two other larger plastic robots, each with a vaguely humanoid appearance. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been pushing for education reform in recent years by spurring technological and scientific innovation. "I help teach educational technology that enhances children's intelligence," said the 80-centimeter (31.5 inches) tall robot in a female voice, waving its arms. A second robot 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.