Mauritania–North Korea relations refers to the
current and historical relationship between the
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
and the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. Neither country maintains an embassy in their respective capitals.
History
Despite Mauritania's pro-French stance during the
Cold War, the country maintained relatively close ties with the DPRK at times. Diplomatic relations were established on 11 November 1964, which caused
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
to break off relations with Mauritania. On 4 November 1964, North Korea and Mauritania had issued a Joint Communiqué calling for the withdrawal of all foreign armed forces from Asia, Africa and Latin America, and endorsing the second Afro-Asian conference.
In 1967, President
Moktar Ould Daddah
Moktar Ould Daddah ( ar, مختار ولد داداه, Mukhtār Wald Dāddāh; December 25, 1924 – October 14, 2003) was a Mauritanian politician who led the country after it gained its independence from France. Daddah served as the country's ...
of Mauritania went on a state visit 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 populat ...
. In 1970,
Kang Ryang-uk
Kang Ryang-uk (, 7 December 1903 – 9 January 1983), also spelled Kang Lyanguk, was a North Korean Presbyterian minister and Chairman of the Korean Christian Federation since 1946.
Kang was the maternal uncle of North Korean leader K ...
led an important delegation to Mauritania.
On 30 May 1975,
Kim Il Sung made a state visit to Mauritania. This, jointly with a visit to neighboring
Algeria
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during the same trip, was the sole occasion that the North Korean Leader visited a country outside of the
East bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
and Asia.
During the trip, Kim Il Sung was awarded with the
Grand National Order of Merit of Mauritania. The visit is commemorated in the
International Friendship Exhibition
The International Friendship Exhibition is a large museum complex located at Myohyangsan, North Pyongan Province, North Korea. It is a collection of halls that house gifts presented to former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il from various forei ...
, which features a world map on which Mauritania and other countries visited by the country's
Eternal President are lit up (in addition to a photo of Kim and President Ould Daddah). The visit was also commemorated in a North Korean newsreel.
[ Almost immediately, in 1976, the reel was pulled from circulation because North Korea's relations with Mauritania soured after North Korea recognized the ]Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (; SADR; also romanized with Saharawi; ar, الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية ' es, República Árabe Saharaui Democrática), also known as Western Sahara, is a ...
.Polisario Front
The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro), (in ar, rtl=yes, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الس ...
and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic during the Western Sahara War
The Western Sahara War ( ar, حرب الصحراء الغربية, french: Guerre du Sahara occidental, es, Guerra del Sahara Occidental) was an armed struggle between the Sahrawi indigenous Polisario Front and Morocco from 1975 to 1991 (an ...
.
In June 1977, diplomatic relations between the two countries were broken off, and remained such for some time.
See also
* Foreign relations of Mauritania
* Foreign relations of North Korea
The foreign relations of North Korea – officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) – have been shaped by its conflict with South Korea and its historical ties with world communism. Both the government of North Korea and th ...
References
Works cited
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mauritania-North Korea relations
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 ...
Mauritania