Small-power diplomacy in Northeast Asia: Mongolian-North Korean relations during the Cold War, 1948-1989

Abstract

Purpose-This article critically re-examines the commonly held view that during the Cold War, the Mongolian and North Korean Communist regimes maintained an ideology-driven friendship, and draws attention to the issues that repeatedly generated friction between Ulaanbaatar and Pyongyang. Design/methodology/approach-On the basis of Hungarian archival materials, the article examines the diplomatic, economic, and symbolic dimensions of Mongolian-DPRK interactions, placing the bilateral partnership into the broader context of Soviet-North Korean, Sino-DPRK, Soviet-Mongolian, and Mongolian-South Korean relations. Findings-The factors that hindered long-term cooperation between the two Communist regimes were the contrast between Mongolia's consistently pro-Soviet orientation and North Korea's independent (or pro-Chinese) course, the domineering attitude the North Korean leaders occasionally adopted toward Mongolia, and the narrow export profile and divergent economic interests of the two countries. Practical implications-Pyongyang's recurrent attempts to create an economic enclave in Mongolia indicated that North Korean nationalism was not just a defensive reaction to Japanese and Soviet dominance but it could also include a domineering attitude toward countries that were weaker or less developed than the DPRK. Originality/value-Earlier studies on Mongolian-North Korean relations were focused on the post-1990 period, rather than the Cold War; they made relatively limited use of archival sources, and they emphasized mostly the friendly aspects of the relationship. © 2016 McFarland & Company, Inc.