Limits of ‘socialist solidarity’: early stage of North Korean-Cuban relations, 1960–5

North Korean-Cuban relations, established in 1960, are conventionally assessed as smooth, issueless and equal, with the two countries presenting a united anti-imperialist front in the Cold War. This paper challenges this perception by bringing to light the previously unexplored archival sources from the Soviet embassy in Pyongyang. Through detailed exploration of the initial period of North Korean-Cuban relations, it argues that North Korea initially aspired to be the senior partner to Cuba, to promote its political, ideological and economic model to Cuba and use it as a stepping-stone to expand its influence on the Third World.Footnote11 The author would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and methodological suggestions which helped shape this article and refine its arguments.