Współczesne stosunki irańsko-północnokoreańskie: realny sojusz czy ograniczona współpraca?
Contemporary Iran-North Korean Relations: a Real Alliance or Limited Cooperation?

Summary/Abstract: The main purpose of the paper is to present the most important conditions and dependencies that characterize current relations between North Korea and Iran. These entities are today one of the most significant threats for international security. The first part of the paper presents the history of Iran-North Korean relations, focusing on the Cold War period and North Korea’s support for Iran during the Iraqi-Iranian war. The second part of the paper focuses on tracing the development of the communist regime’s political contacts with Iran from the 1990s to the Arab Spring in 2011, based mainly on mutual support for its nuclear programs. Lastly, the paper follows the cooperation of North Korea and Iran in the recent years, primarily regarding issues related to the growing pressure of the United States to stop the development of nuclear weapons in the DPRK and Iran. The conclusion serves as an attempt to answer the question whether future ties between North Korea and Iran should be expected. Another question would be whether the contacts of both countries can be assessed as a real alliance, however, they are more limited in nature. In addition, it is important to address issues such as whether and how the cooperation of both sides will significantly affect the architecture of modern international security.

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