Location: Yŏnhwa-dong (蓮花洞), Chung-kuyŏk (中區域), Pyongyang (平壤市), North Korea

Size: Approximately 200 faculty members and 2,000 students

Subordinate to: The Science and Education Department (科學敎育部) under the Korean Workers Party Central Committee (朝鮮勞動黨中央委員會) exercises overall supervision, but the Department of Higher Education (高等敎育部) in the Ministry of Education (敎育省) manages administrative affairs. [Note: There are also education bureaus under the people’s committees in every city and/or province (市·都 人民委員會敎育局) that contribute to the formation of education policy, and the local education bureau could provide some input for the school.]

Primary Function: Research and development; testing of BW agent cultures

Description: Pyongyang Medical University is the top medical school in North Korea. The school was founded in 1948 when the Department of Medical Science at Kim Il Sung University became an independent university. According to South Korean sources, the university conducts research on biological warfare. South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo has reported that Pyongyang Medical University tests BW agent cultures.

	Updated July 2003

Key Sources:
Chang Chun Ik, Pukhan Haek-Missile Chŏnjaeng, (Seoul: Sŏmundang, 1999), pp. 367-368; Kim In, “Segyeŭi hwahangmugi/Pukhanjung’il In Tŭng 25 Kuk Kukpiboyu,” Chosun Ilbo, 22 March 1995, in KINDS <http://www.kinds.or.kr>; “Shisabaekkwa: Taehak,” Chosun Ilbo, <http://nk.chosun.com>.