Cuba–North Korea relations ( ko, 꾸바-조선민주주의인민공화국 관계, es, Relaciones cubanas-coreanas del norte) are the bilateral relations between

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and

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 Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

. Cuba has had diplomatic relations with North Korea since 29 August 1960. Cuba maintains an embassy in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

and North Korea maintains an embassy in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

History

Cuba has been one of North Korea's most consistent allies.

North Korean media The mass media in North Korea is amongst the most strictly controlled in the world. The constitution nominally provides for freedom of speech and the press. However, the government routinely disregards these rights, and seeks to mold informatio ...

portrays

Cubans Cubans ( es, Cubanos) are people born in Cuba and people with Cuban citizenship. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic, religious and national backgrounds. Racial and ethnic groups Census The population of Cuba wa ...

as comrades in the common cause of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

. During the Cold War, North Korea and Cuba forged a bond of solidarity based on their militant positions opposing American power.

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quot ...

, then a

Cuban government Cuba has had a socialist political system since 1959 based on the "one state – one party" principle. Cuba is constitutionally defined as a Marxist–Leninist state. The present Constitution of Cuba, which was passed in a 2019 referendum, also ...

minister, visited North Korea in 1960 and proclaimed it a model for Cuba to follow. In 1968, Raúl Castro stated their views were "completely identical on everything". Cuban leader Fidel Castro visited in 1986. Cuba was one of the few countries that showed solidarity with North Korea by boycotting the

Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

in 1988. Fidel Castro wrote that in the 1980s Kim Il Sung, "a veteran and irreproachable combatant, sent us 100,000 AK-47 rifles and its corresponding ammo without charging a cent". In 2013, a North Korean ship, the '' Chong Chon Gang'', was searched by the

Panama Canal Authority The Panama Canal Authority ( es, Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP)) is the agency of the government of Panama responsible for the operation and management of the Panama Canal. The ACP took over the administration of the canal from the Panama ...

while traveling through the Panama Canal and found to be carrying weapons from Cuba, apparently to be repaired in North Korea and returned. The ship was later handed back to the North Korean government. In January 2016, North Korea and Cuba established a barter trade system. Also in 2016, the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party ...

and the

Communist Party of Cuba The Communist Party of Cuba ( es, Partido Comunista de Cuba, PCC) is the sole ruling party of Cuba. It was founded on 3 October 1965 as the successor to the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution, which was in turn made up of the 26 ...

met to discuss strengthening ties. After Fidel Castro's death in 2016, the North Korean government declared a three-day mourning period and sent an official delegation to his funeral. North Korean leader

Kim Jong Un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's secon ...

visited the Cuban embassy in Pyongyang to pay his respects. In 2018, the new Cuban President

Miguel Diaz-Canel --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disamb ...

visited North Korea, stressing socialist solidarity and opposition to sanctions. For his birthday in 2021

sent Diaz-Canel a floral basket via the country's ambassador.

History

See also

References

Further reading