North Korea is shutting embassies
China and Russia are the only friends it needs
The Agostinho Neto Mausoleum, a brutalist multipronged spear taller than the Statue of Liberty, looms over Luanda, the capital of Angola. Built by a North Korean construction firm, the concrete monument is a reminder of the two countries’ historic ties. Some 3,000 North Korean troops fought in the terrible civil war that engulfed Angola in the 1970s and 80s. In North Korea’s version of history, Neto, Angola’s first president, learned the ways of anti-colonial struggle from the North Korean supreme leader, Kim Il Sung.
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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Mission closure”
From the November 11th 2023 edition
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