The Swedish-Korean Association (SKA) ( sv, Svensk-koreanska föreningen, ko, 스웨리예-조선 친선협회) is a Swedish friendship association with

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. It was formed in 1969, and since 1972 its aims also includes to "spread knowledge of what is happening in Korea, support the efforts for

reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal governmen ...

, and work for recognition of the DPRK." The association declares open solidarity for the North Korean regime. The country's form of government is described as "uncompromisingly Socialist". The SKA especially supports North Korea's right to exist, and its right to defend itself from outside interference. It maintains friendly relations with the North Korean state. They organize study meetings and conferences, rallies and workshops, and exhibitions. Trips to North Korea are also arranged. Humanitarian aid was organized during the

North Korean famine The North Korean Famine (), also known as the Arduous March or the March of Suffering (), was a period of mass starvation together with a general economic crisis from 1994 to 1998 in North Korea. During this time there was an increase in defec ...

, ''

Juche ''Juche'' ( ; ), officially the ''Juche'' idea (), is the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea. North Korean sources attribute its conceptualization to Kim Il-sung, the country's founder and ...

'' study seminars are held, and books are translated and published. Since 1970 the association publishes the quarterly magazine ''Korea-information''. The association has roughly 300 members. In 2011 the Vice Chairman was interviewed by state radio after the

death of Kim Jong-il The death of Kim Jong-il was reported by North Korean state television news on 19 December 2011. The presenter Ri Chun-hee announced that he had died on 17 December at 8:30 am of a massive heart attack while travelling by train to an area ou ...

. The association is based in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and is independent of any political parties.

Chairpersons

*Torsten Brännström (1969–1971) *Birgitta Sevefjord (1971–1972) *Torsten Brännström (1972–1973) *Evert Kumm (1973–1975) *Karen Lundberg (1975–1976) *Gustav Lorentzon (1976–1980) *Nils-Eric Gustafsson (1980–1986) *Bert Andersson (1986–1994) *Thomas Rönström (1994–2004) *Christer Lundgren (2004–Present)

References

External links

* Organizations specializing in North Korean issues Organizations established in 1969 1969 establishments in Sweden Sweden friendship associations Korea friendship associations Political organizations based in Sweden North Korea–Sweden relations {{Swedish Communism

Chairpersons

See also

References

External links