The relationship between North Korea and China is growing thin, with the larger of the two neighbors getting irate with their little brother for always causing trouble. And while the DPRK can scramble about trying to repair this relationship, what they really need in the world are more allies. Thus, it looks like the latest move by the country is to court the far away continent of Africa, the country of Uganda to be exact.
North Korea recently sent a minister to Uganda to help them with some problems. There’s nothing (known) that they’ve asked in exchange thus far, but a little friendship will likely go a long way. Naturally, accusations have been flying that the DPRK is supplying them weapons to deal with whatever domestic issues may arrive. Just as obviously, North Korea is denying this. They claim they are there to help with police training, special forces organization, medical training and some housing construction projects.
North Korea has actually been on friendly terms with Uganda for some time now, providing them with most of the above mentioned help for more than five years now, so this is really nothing new. What is new is the desperation that North Korea must be facing regarding their dwindling supply of allies. More friends mean more ways to deal with the sanctions that will inevitably come once the country starts in on their nuclear weapons program once more. By providing some essentials to Uganda, the DPRK may be looking at calling on them in the future for basic supplies when they can’t get them from anywhere else.
This does not put Uganda in the best light in the international community. People that side with North Korea when in comes to world politics tend to get the short end of the stick. Whether this deal will cause problems for Uganda remains to be seen. The truth of the matter is that this is a relationship of necessity for both sides. Smaller countries with limited resources must band together in order to survive and avoid being exploited. It would, perhaps, be a good move for the world at large if we were the ones to offer this help to Uganda instead of giving North Korea that inroad.
Ugandan soldiers photo courtesy of Jeremy T. Lock
