Relationship dossier
North Korea
Zimbabwe
Relationship assessment
Military cooperation and political ties marked the relationship, particularly under Robert Mugabe.
North Korea toward Zimbabwe
+35North Korea provided training to Zimbabwe’s Fifth Brigade in the early 1980s, constituting concrete military assistance to the Zimbabwean government.
Zimbabwe toward North Korea
+30Under Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe maintained political ties with North Korea and accepted North Korean military training for its Fifth Brigade in the early 1980s.
Overall relationship
+30The relationship featured concrete military cooperation in the early 1980s and political ties during Robert Mugabe’s rule. The Fifth Brigade training was a notable bilateral arrangement; the scope and continuity of cooperation in later periods are unclear.
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
North Korea provided training for Zimbabwe’s Fifth Brigade in the early 1980s, a significant episode of military cooperation. Under Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe also maintained political ties with North Korea. The relationship has a history of cooperation, though its later scope and continuity are unclear.
Key developments
North Korea provided training for Zimbabwe’s Fifth Brigade, a military cooperation arrangement associated with the early years after Zimbabwean independence.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and continuity of military and political cooperation after the early Mugabe period are unclear.
- Details of bilateral cooperation under subsequent Zimbabwean governments are limited.