Comrades Beyond the Cold War: North Korea and the Liberation of Southern Africa [Paperback]

A pioneering account of how African revolutionaries benefitted from North Korean aid in their struggles for independence-and how they repay this support today.North Korea was an important player in the decolonization of Africa. Freedom fighters across the continent received vital assistance from Pyongyang, and almost all southern African independence leaders travelled to the North Korean capital at some point, in search of support. This alliance has continued into the twenty-first century, with African postcolonial governments throwing a lifeline to Pyongyang's increasingly isolated economy by hiring North Korean companies, despite United Nations sanctions.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.PrefaceAbbreviationsIntroduction: Comrades Beyond the Cold WarPART ONE: BLOODPrologue: Freedom Fighters1. SOLIDARITY: The Southern African Struggle2. COMPETITION: Korean Rivalry for Recognition3. DIPLOMACY: African Presidents in Pyongyang4. DOCTRINE: Juche Ideology in Africa5. DEVELOPMENT: South-South CooperationEpilogue: Microphone RevolutionPART TWO: BULLETSPrologue: The Barrel of a Gun6. WAR: The Battlefields of Africa7. WEAPONS: North Korean War Experience8. TRAINING: Achieving Power, 1960-19809. VICTORY: ColƒL