So it is true that neither country is a natural market for the other when it comes to mainstream commodities, but what about weapons?Ĭuba has said it owns the weaponry found hidden on board the North Korean-flagged Chong Chon Gang - and that it consists of several obsolete Soviet-era missiles, anti-aircraft batteries, and MiG fighter jets.Įxperts at Jane's Defence Analysis have identified the parts as belonging to an "SNR-75 'Fan Song' fire control radar". Cuba was slightly better off, with $6,000 per capita, but its population is small - just 11 million people. The UN estimated that North Korea had an income of $500 per capita in 2011. "Cuba isn't even in the top 10 trade partners for Pyongyang, and the huge distances between them make transportation expensive." "North Korea doesn't need sugar, and Cuba doesn't want to buy a lot of dried squid, for example, so they're not profitable partners." "As far as economic exchange goes, it's negligible" he explains. He says there's a great deal of symbolic importance attached to the relationship, but that in reality it doesn't amount to much "because North Korea is looking to trade for money, and Cuba isn't willing to pay much". The stash of weapons were found hidden within a shipment of sugar Weapons trade?Īndrei Lankov, based at Kookmin University outside Seoul, spent time in North Korea during the 1980s, and specialises in Pyongyang's Soviet-era relationships. There are recent reports of cultural exchanges between the two countries, and of economic co-operation.Īnd, perhaps most interestingly, a 2013 protocol for the development of science and technology, and an "exchange of goods".īut there is no detail about what these agreements and exchanges actually consist of. Organisations such as the Cuban Committee for Supporting Korea's Reunification and the Korean Committee for Solidarity with Cuba make regular appearances, along with quotes from Cuban newspapers which backed Pyongyang during its recent stand-off with the United States. "They're the only fully communist countries still in existence, and they've both faced direct US military action, which has helped bind them together," she explains.Ī scan of recent North Korean media articles shows a relationship that is strong on public displays of communist support. North Korea is looking to trade for money, and Cuba isn't willing to pay much” End Quote Andrei Lankov Kookmin University Korean historian Kathryn Weathersby, adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University, says the two countries have a long and close relationship.Ĭontinue reading the main story “ Start Quote There are certainly a lot of similarities: both are small communist states that survived the collapse of the Soviet Union both have successfully carried out dynastic successions and both operate under US economic sanctions. The recent discovery of Cuban weapons on board a North Korean ship has taken many people by surprise, and led to questions about hidden ties between two countries. The report, just a few lines long, was short on detail and easy to miss. It described a visit by senior military officials to Cuba, and "comradely" talks there on "boosting the friendly relations between the two armies". Cuba arms on seized N Korean ship WatchĪt the beginning of July, a short bulletin appeared on North Korea's state news agency.The five runners-up - whittled down from an original longlist of 19 books - each receives £1,000.Ĭoverage of the ceremony features in Thursday's edition of The Culture Show, to be broadcast on BBC Two at 2320 BST.Continue reading the main story Related Stories "I think we knew this book had something when we found ourselves reading it out loud to spouses and partners," he added. "Nowhere will you find a better account of real life in North Korea," said Davis, who scrutinised the shortlist with Financial Times arts editor Jan Dalley and historian Stella Tillyard. Its title comes from a song North Korean children are taught entitled We Have Nothing To Envy in the World. Subtitled Real Lives in North Korea, Demick's book tells of six North Korean citizens living in the only country in the world not connected to the internet. This year's winner was announced at a ceremony at the Royal Institute for British Architects (Riba) in London. He said it was "a real testament" to Demick's work "that a book on such a grim topic can be so hard to put down". Nothing to Envy, by Los Angeles Times journalist Barbara Demick, beat five other works to the accolade.Įvan Davis, presenter of BBC Radio 4's Today show and chairman of the judges, called the book "gripping and moving". An account of life in North Korea drawn from interviews with defectors has won the £20,000 BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction.
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