France–North Korea relations
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Relations between
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
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 Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
are non-existent, as the two nations have no formal diplomatic relations with one another. Along with
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
, France is one of the only two
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
members not to maintain diplomatic relations with North Korea. In October 2011, the French government decided to open a French Bureau for Cooperation 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 populatio ...
. According to a 2013
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
World Service Poll, only 19% of French people view North Korea's influence positively, with 81% expressing a negative view.


History

Relations between
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
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 Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
, in the sense of relations between sovereign states, are officially non-existent. Estonia and France are the only two European Union members not to have established formal diplomatic relations with the state."DPRK Diplomatic Relations"
National Committee on North Korea
France's official position is that it will consider establishing diplomatic relations with the DPRK if and when the latter abandons its nuclear weapons programme and improves its human rights record.
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
who toured North Korea in 1981 promised recognition to North Korea before he was elected. In late 2009, French president
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
appointed Socialist politician Jack Lang his special envoy to
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 ...
, following a similar assignment earlier in the year to Cuba. Lang traveled to
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 populatio ...
on November 9 for a self-described "listening mission" aimed at exploring bilateral ties and discussing the
North Korean nuclear program North Korea has a military nuclear weapons program and, as of early 2020, is estimated to have an arsenal of approximately 30 to 40 nuclear weapons and sufficient production of fissile material for six to seven nuclear weapons per year.
, among other things. Lang briefed American officials including Deputy Secretary of State
James Steinberg James Braidy Steinberg (born May 7, 1953) is an American academic and political advisor, and former United States Deputy Secretary of State. He has served as the dean of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns H ...
and special envoy
Sung Kim Sung Yong Kim ( ko, 김성용; born 1960) is an American diplomat of Korean descent serving as the United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy since 2021, and previously from 2014 to 2016. He has also served as the acting Assist ...
, as well as ambassadors of countries involved such as Russia, before the assignment was publicly announced. Some critics questioned Lang's qualifications, but Lang said he would be driven by his "intuition" that change was afoot in North Korea. On December 18, 2009, North Korea consented to the French government's offer to establish a French Cooperation and Cultural Action Office as a first step for normalizing the relations between the two countries. In October 2011, the French government opened the French Cooperation and Cultural Action Office 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 populatio ...
. The office has since been headed by French diplomats, "given the needs that have been identified in the cultural and humanitarian domains". The office focuses on cultural and humanitarian issues. The French government has made clear at the time that the opening of the office by no means implied the establishment of formal diplomatic relations of North Korea by France; such move would remain conditional upon "an improvement on the nuclear issue, inter-Korean relations, and the humanitarian and human rights situation"."La France et la Corée du Nord"
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, December 2012


Economic and cultural relations

Economic relations are also limited. In 2005, French imports from North Korea were worth
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
24 million, and French exports to North Korea €6 million. In 2005, there were officially 54 North Koreans living in France. The only French residents in North Korea are humanitarian workers. France provides humanitarian aid to the DPRK, and allows a small number of North Korean students to study in France every year.Official website of the French National Assembly
/ref> It primarily provides administrative training, and training in the field of architecture. Albeit minimal, cinema is one of the few areas where France and North Korea cooperate. The North Korean film series
Nation and Destiny ''Nation and Destiny'' () is a 62-part North Korean film series released between 1992 and 2002. It aims to show that the Korean people "can live a glorious life only in the bosom of the Great Leader and socialist fatherland". Kim Jong Il personal ...
is one of the country's only films with scenes filmed in France. In 2007, the North Korean film ''
The Schoolgirl's Diary ''The Schoolgirl's Diary'' (or ''The Journal of a Schoolgirl'') is a 2007 North Korean film directed by Jang In-hak. It debuted at the 2006 Pyongyang Film Festival as one of two films produced domestically that year, and was released in France at ...
'' was released in France.


See also

* Foreign relations of France * Foreign relations of North Korea * France-South Korea relations * North Korea–EU relations


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:France-North Korea relations North Korea Bilateral relations of North Korea North Korea