Relationship dossier
Indonesia
North Korea
Relationship assessment
Diplomatic engagement and senior-level visits sustain a cordial but limited Indonesia–North Korea relationship.
Indonesia toward North Korea
+20Indonesia’s foreign minister Retno Marsudi visited Pyongyang in May 2018 and met North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong-ho, engaging directly on bilateral relations and the Korean Peninsula. Indonesia has also voiced concern over North Korean nuclear and missile activity.
North Korea toward Indonesia
+15North Korea sent senior representative Kim Yong-nam to Indonesia for the 2015 commemoration of the Asian-African Conference, providing a high-level instance of bilateral engagement.
Overall relationship
+20The relationship is characterized by continued diplomatic engagement and occasional senior-level contact, including Indonesia’s 2018 foreign-minister visit to Pyongyang and North Korea’s participation in the 2015 Asian-African Conference commemoration. Indonesia’s concerns about North Korean weapons activity are a source of friction, while the practical depth of cooperation appears limited.
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
Indonesia and North Korea have maintained diplomatic engagement, including visits by senior officials. Indonesia’s foreign minister visited Pyongyang in 2018, and North Korea sent a senior representative to the 2015 Asian-African Conference commemoration in Indonesia. The relationship has remained relatively cordial, though its practical scope appears limited and Indonesia has expressed concern over North Korean nuclear and missile activity.
Areas of tension
- Indonesia’s concerns over North Korean nuclear and missile activity.
Key developments
North Korean senior representative Kim Yong-nam attended the Asian-African Conference commemoration in Indonesia.
Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi visited Pyongyang and met North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong-ho.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral cooperation are unclear.
- The extent of recent high-level engagement and practical cooperation is uncertain.