Relations between

Democratic People's Republic of 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 borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

(DPRK) and the

Syrian Arab Republic Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

(; ) were established in 1966. Syria has an embassy in

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

while North Korea has an embassy in Damascus. North Korea was one of

Ba'athist Syria Ba'athist Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), was the Syrian state between 1963 and 2024 under the One-party state, one-party rule of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, Syrian regional branch of the Ba'ath Party (Syri ...

's closest allies. The

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

government designates both nations as

State Sponsors of Terrorism "State Sponsors of Terrorism" is a designation applied to countries that are alleged to have "repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism" per the United States Department of State. Inclusion on the list enables the United St ...

, and they reciprocate this shared enmity; although Syria's status on the list remains unknown after the

collapse of the Assad regime On 8 December 2024, the Assad regime collapsed during a major offensive by opposition forces. The offensive was spearheaded by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and supported mainly by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army as part of the ongoi ...

Relations with Ba'athist Syria

The

recognized the

as the sole legitimate government of

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and both states had established diplomatic relations on 25 July 1966. Both of the countries were aligned with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. The DPRK had provided military assistance to the Syrian Ba'athist regime in its wars with

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and were improved after the

Assad family The Assad family ruled Syria from 1971, when Hafez al-Assad became president under the Ba'ath Party following the 1970 coup, until Bashar al-Assad was ousted on 8 December 2024. Bashar succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, after Hafez's deat ...

came into power in 1970. The relations between the two countries remain fair despite the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the

; as the new Boris Yeltsin government retreated from the Middle East while North Korea suffered a massive

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

in the 1990s. North Korea built a nuclear reactor in Syria based on the design of its own reactor at

Yongbyon Nyŏngbyŏn is a county in North Pyŏngan Province, North Korea. It borders the cities of Kaechŏn and Anju, and covers an area of 504 km2. Description The city was heavily fortified during the 15th century as a result of its strateg ...

, and North Korean officials traveled regularly to the site. The Syrian reactor was destroyed by Israel in an airstrike in 2007. The United States signed the Iran, North Korea, Syria Nonproliferation Act in 2000. In 2012, North Korean leader

Kim Jong Un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

expressed support for the Syrian President

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

in face of a growing civil war. In September 2015, the Syrian government paid tribute to

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

in a ceremony for a new park in Damascus named in his honor. In 2016, there were reports that North Korean Special Forces were fighting to defend the Syrian government in the Syrian Civil War. North Korea also expressed interest in helping Syria in post-war reconstruction. In 2018, Bashar al-Assad said that he will visit North Korea to meet with

. A

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

report released in 2018 alleged that North Korea was helping Syria in developing chemical weapons.

Post-Ba'athist relations

Following the collapse of the Assad family regime in December 2024, the future of the North Korean-Syrian relations is in doubt as North Korea's state media remained silent on the regime's collapse after the rebels took control of the country. The North Korean Embassy in Syria was evacuated. However, as relations between North Korea and Syria began to gradually deteriorate, the establishment of diplomatic relations with the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

(South Korea) by the

Syrian transitional government The Syrian transitional government () is the current provisional government of Syria, formed on 29 March 2025 under President Ahmed al-Sharaa. It succeeded the Syrian caretaker government headed by Mohammed al-Bashir. The government was ...

on 10 April 2025 formally tilted Syria towards the Western world.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:North Korea-Syria relations

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

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 borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

Relations with Ba'athist Syria

Post-Ba'athist relations

See also

References