Illuminating North Korea's Shadow Influence In Africa

Tycho van der Hoog's tightly researched book, Comrades Beyond the Cold War: North Korea and the Liberation of Southern Africa , sheds light on a generally overlooked relationship - that between Africa and the repressive and impoverished "hermit kingdom" of North Korea. The relationship has its genesis in ties dating back to the Cold War era, when liberation forces throughout Southern Africa, fighting for self-determination against colonialism and white supremacy, sought international military and diplomatic support.

North Korea - inspired by its own history of Japanese colonialism, its militant communism and its struggle against the US and US-backed South Korea - was one nation that answered the call.

The book has three parts: Blood Bullets and Bronze. The first part, "Blood", is an explanation of how and why Southern Africa's liberation movements looked for both moral and material assistance during and after the struggle.

North Korea's nationalist ideology is named Juche , which is generally translated as 'self-reliance". Juche calls for the country's development of political and military independence and economic ingenuity - an ideology which, van der Hoog explains, resonated with African liberation movements.

Opinion is divided on whether Juche retains any trace of its Marxist-Leninist ideological roots some argue that it has evolved into a mere propaganda tool upholding the autocratic rule of the Kim dynasty in North Korea.