“People’s Diplomacy” and the Forging of Bilateral Relations

An Analysis of the Chile-North Korea Friendship Association, 1958-1973.

Abstract

In November 1970, Allende’s Chile recognized North Korea. This move is presented in North Korean foreign policy literature and in Chilean historical scholarship as a predictable outcome of the two nations’ ideological convergence. These interpretations, however, overlook the preceding work of a Chilean group that had devoted considerable effort since the early 1960s to creating conditions favorable for establishing relations with North Korea. This group, the Chile-Korea Culture Institute, was a friendship organization between Chile and North Korea. This research examines non-state actors’ impact on Chile-DPRK relations and, more broadly, on North Korea’s Third World engagement during the Cold War.