2024-09-04 05:19:36
Pyongyang: North Korea’s tension with many countries of the world including America is well known. North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong Un has been seen threatening America and South Korea on many occasions. These countries have called North Korea’s power a threat to the world but India does not seem to be very affected by this. India has decades-old relations with North Korea, which are still intact. The leaders of both the countries do not seem to visit each other’s country very often but India has been trusting this ‘dangerous’ country of the world despite America’s displeasure. North Korea can be called an isolated nuclear-armed dictatorship but it has been a constant friend of India.
North Korea’s nuclear tests and missile tests have allegedly threatened the security of Asia. These tests have led to diplomatic isolation of the country but India has not cut off contact with the country. India is one of the few countries that has an embassy in Pyongyang. For a long time, India has been North Korea’s second and third largest trading partners.
Indian Foreign Minister visited Korea in 2018
The leaders of India and North Korea do not visit very frequently. The North Korean Foreign Minister visited India about ten years ago in 2015. At the same time, Indian Minister VK Singh visited North Korea in 2018. VK Singh’s visit especially caught the attention of the world as it was not expected by many countries. Just a year before this, in 2017, the US had asked India to reduce its diplomatic contacts with North Korea. This was denied by India’s Foreign Minister at that time, Sushma Swaraj. India has also been training North Korean diplomats. India has also helped North Korea on many important occasions, which shows the friendship between the two. In the year 2022, North Korea reportedly ordered rice from India after its crops were destroyed by floods.
Why is India so interested?
Actually, India is interested in North Korea’s nuclear program and its relations with Pakistan. For years, Pakistan has helped North Korea develop nuclear weapons by providing nuclear technology. North Korea has helped Pakistan develop missiles. India has consistently informed the international community about these relations between Pakistan and North Korea. During VK Singh’s 2018 visit, North Korea promised not to endanger India’s security.
India has had relations with North Korea but there has not been much freshness in them in recent years. India is much closer to the US and South Korea than to North Korea. India has also expressed concern over North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests. There have been no top-level meetings between the two in the last 5 years.