Relationship dossier
Albania
North Korea
Relationship assessment
Historic communist-era cooperation, with little known contemporary bilateral activity
Albania toward North Korea
-10Albania aligns with international restrictions and measures directed at North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, creating a modestly adversarial element in its policy toward Pyongyang.
North Korea toward Albania
+5North Korea participated in political and cultural cooperation with Albania during their communist-era relationship. The extent of any subsequent bilateral cooperation is unclear.
Overall relationship
0The enduring relationship combines a history of communist-era political and cultural cooperation with Albania’s later alignment with international restrictions on North Korea. Limited information about contemporary bilateral activity makes the overall relationship appear mixed rather than a sustained partnership or confrontation.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Albania and North Korea have a history of political and cultural cooperation dating to their communist-era relationship. Albania now aligns with international restrictions on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. The relationship appears to have little contemporary bilateral activity, but the scope and implementation of past agreements and current government contacts are unclear.
Areas of tension
- Albania’s alignment with international measures addressing North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of Albania–North Korea agreements from the communist era are unclear.
- Details of contemporary bilateral government contacts and cooperation are limited.