Burundi–North Korea relations ( ko, 부룬디-조선민주주의인민공화국 관계) refers to the current and historical relationship between

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

and North Korea. Neither country maintains an embassy in their respective capitals. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on 11 March 1967, a year after President

Michel Micombero Michel Micombero (26 August 194016 July 1983) was a Burundian politician and army officer who ruled the country as ''de facto'' military dictator for the decade between 1966 and 1976. He was the last Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Burundi from ...

overthrew the previous monarchy. Micombero, a Tutsi

African socialist African socialism or Afrosocialism is a belief in sharing economic resources in a traditional African way, as distinct from classical socialism. Many African politicians of the 1950s and 1960s professed their support for African socialism, althou ...

aligned with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, initially maintained a close relationship with North Korea. It was eventually strained in 1971 by alleged undermining against his military rule carried out by North Koreans among the youth members of the Union for National Progress (UPRONA). For several months he refused to accept the credentials of the North Korean ambassador, and threatened to expel all North Korean citizens. Despite this issue, North Korea aided Micombero's Tutsi regime during the Hutu uprising that broke out in 1972 the resulting genocidal violence and the deaths of 150,000 Hutus. Together with China and France, North Korea provided military support during the unrest. In the years after this, the relationship improved. In 1976, Micombero promised full support to the policies of

Kim Il Sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

. He was overthrown the same year. In the late 1970s, North Korean engineers constructed a presidential palace for Micombero's successor, Jean-Baptiste Bagaza. A later President,

Pierre Buyoya Pierre Buyoya (24 November 1949 – 17 December 2020) was a Burundian army officer and politician who served two terms as President of Burundi in 1987 to 1993 and 1996 to 2003. He was the second-longest serving president in Burundian history. An ...

, likewise aligned with North Korea on, among other things, expressing support for the country's plans to achieve Korean reunification. He is reported to have had possible North Korean military assistance during the

Second Congo War The Second Congo War,, group=lower-alpha also known as the Great War of Africa or the Great African War and sometimes referred to as the African World War, began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998, little more than a year a ...

. In 2011, it was alleged that Burundi – by purchasing defective Chinese weapons from the North Koreans through a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

company – had broken the arms embargo placed on North Korea.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burundi-North Korea relations North Korea

See also

References