Tycho van der Hoog examines the relations between victorious southern African liberation movements and North Korea, from the 1960s to the present. He explains why African presidents sang and danced at parties in Pyongyang, and why North Korean books were translated into Swahili and Afrikaans. He reveals how African soldiers were trained in guerrilla warfare by North Korean instructors, and how North Korean laborers construct monuments in Africa in the shape of AK-47s. And he explores the question of how revolutionary regimes, motivated by a need for survival, work together to defy the global order.
Based on extensive research across four continents--including recently disclosed African liberation archives and Korean diplomatic cables--this innovative study is the first book on African-North Korean relations.