Seoul, Dec 27 (IANS): North Korea is spurring online education at major universities as part of efforts to train "intellectual-type workers" with science and technology expertise, Pyongyang's state media said on Monday.

The North's main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, said around 100,000 workers are currently enrolled for online classes across the country, including 10,000 newly registered this year, reports Yonhap News Agency.

North Korea has been highlighting its efforts to develop the remote education system as a tool to help workers acquire "modern science and technology" necessary at their workplaces, the newspaper said.

The North launched its first online education course 10 years ago at Kim Chaek University of Technology, with the number of students enrolled in such courses constantly increasing, according to the Rodong Sinmun.

"At any workplace, there are workers who are eager to contribute to the wealth and power of their homeland by learning more science and technology," the newspaper said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been stressing the importance of science and technology for self-reliant economic development amid crippling sanctions against its nuclear and missile programmes.