The main purpose of this article is to outline the relationships of North Korea with the Middle East and its most important conditions. It describes the policy of the Pyongyang authorities towards the Arab world from the beginning of their mutual contacts in the 1960s to the present day. In particular, the contemporary conditions of relations between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Iran, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are analysed.
Firstly, I take a look at the history of theses relations, focusing on the Cold War and the North Korean co-operation with Palestinian terrorists, as well as with the Iranian authorities after Ayatollah Khomeini took over government. Then I analyse the contacts between the communist regime and Iran, primarily based on supporting the Iranian nuclear programme. Another important aspect is the attitude of the DPRK authorities towards the Arab Spring and the related conflict in Syria, during which the new leader of the country, Kim Jong Un, significantly accelerated the work on nuclear weapons, considering it to be a guarantee of security for the regime. In the next part of the work, I describe the current relations of the Pyongyang government with Israel and Palestine, as well as with Sunni monarchies, such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Finally, I try to answer the question of whether development of co-operation between North Korea and the Middle East should be expected in the future. Moreover, I make an attempt to answer the question of whether the possible co-operation of both sides will affect today’s international security.