Pyongyang-Singapore Relations

huaqing SG

I recently realized that there is actually diplomatic relations between the Republic of Singapore and North Korea. How good do you think the relations of Singapore and Pyongyang is?

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Adapted from website Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore:

Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
Embassy of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Diplomatic Relations established on: 8 November 1975

Chancery 7500 Beach Road
#09-320 The Plaza
Singapore 199591
Telephone 64403498
Fax 63482026
Office Hours Mon - Fri
9.00 am - 12 noon
2.00 pm - 6.00 pm
National Day The Day of Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
9 September

Trade Section
Address 371 Beach Road, #16-05 Keypoint
Singapore 199597
Telephone 63920784
Fax 63920789
E-mail [email protected]
Office Hours Mon - Fri
9.00 am - 12 noon
2.00 pm - 6.00 pm

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
1. His Excellency Ji Jae Suk
Mdm Kwon Ok Nyo

Counsellor
2. Mr Hong Won Jun
Mdm Kim In Hwa

Trade Commissioner
3. Mr Kim Kyong Chol
Mdm Ryu Kyong Suk

Second Secretary
4. Mr Yun Hye Chol
Mdm Pak Ye Jin

Third Secretary
5. Mr Pak Ryong Ryon
Mdm Kim Myong Hwa

6. Mr Kim Hi Jae
Mdm Choe Sun Im[/b]

4getmenot SG

Just some formality perhaps... Rolling Eyes

laurence82 SG

We even had a relationship with farking China, so whats with a smaller commie nation?

Laughing

fudgester SG

Even in the height of the Cold War, the US and the Soviets had embassies in each other’s countries.

huaqing SG

please do not contribute irrelavant comments

laurence82 SG

its 'irrelevant'

u got unbanned liao har?

congrats

Very Happy

fudgester SG

China and North Korea are both nations with communist ideologies, albeit with the former embracing more and more capitalist teachings.

So please explain why laurence's comment is considered irrelevant.

laurence82 SG

In fact, its not surprising.

We have close military ties to Myanmar, which EU and US got something to say, and we have close ties with Israel, which our neighbours have something to say about.

China supply Pakistan and DPRK with weapons and other materials *ahem*, which is annoying UN to heck.

Iraq during Saddam's time also enjoyed some form of technology transfer from French and German companies

And the list goes on

Its no longer surprising any sort of ties exist. Nations would look towards guarding and promoting their interests than to uphold values and morals.

potong jalan SG

If you have noticed, every year’s 16 of February (aka Kim Jong Il’s birthday) DPRK embassy will place an advertisment in local dailies…

huaqing SG

China is captalist communist. get what i mean?

huaqing SG

what do you mean?
please watch your language

huaqing SG

and now talking about DPRK not PRC...now you understand the obvious why already? good.

huaqing SG

that's interesting!
next year must see...

LazerLordz SG

Well, as long as the CCP is still the ultimate state organ in China, I will still consider it a Communist state.

Capitalism is just a mode in which China operates in. It's institutions and organs, not to mention military central control, is still communist in origin and process.

fudgester SG

No, I don't.

laurence was talking about how our relations are with communist countries in general. If the fact is that we can have good relations with communist countries like the PRC, then diplomatic relations with the DPRK are not quite something surprising.

You can call the PRC 'capitalist communist' or anything you like, and the fact remains that they remain communist-centric.

As I've said before, the US and the Soviet Union had embassies in each others' countries in the height of the Cold War. So it's not a precedent for the North Koreans to have an embassy here.

I fail to see why you would wish to write off laurence's attempt to expand the discussion as 'irrelevance'.

Or are you going to write off my talking about the US and the Soviets as irrelevance as well?

laurence82 SG

To be truthful, I think they are a bunch of hypocrites.

Capitalist communist is oxymoronic. I am a Chinese, and I can say, we have a culture of profit and greed more profound than any other cultures. The idea of a communist country abhoring ideals of capitalism yet allowing its economy grow like boils down to one word: greed.

I would say, to be more accurate, it should be capitalist-dictatorship, where the economy grows with capitalism, and political control is extreme. Funnily, this also sounds like a little country in SEA.

Laughing

fudgester SG

Hypocrisy isn't just confined to the PRC. As it is, the very name of the 'DEMOCRATIC People's Republic of Korea' is hypocrisy in itself. The North Korean juche system is anything but democratic in its precepts, and we all know that already.

And hey, there's the official name for the former East Germany as well: 'German DEMOCRATIC Republic'. Laughing

Somehow I find it funny that communist nations would claim to be staunchly pro-communist and anti-democratic while openly using democracy in their names. One would think that if they were truly proud of their communist ideologies, they would have reflected that in their names.

Seems to indicate an apologetic stance on their part for their communist status. Laughing

But of course, hypocrisy isn't just limited to communist states. The US, for instance, is a pretty good example of legalised hypocrisy in the guise of democracy. You don't have to think too far to think of one example of this: the indefinite confining without trial of 'enemy combatants' at Guantanamo Bay certainly goes against their ideas of personal liberties.

Atobe SG

Singapore without even acknowledging the word 'Democracy' will go through the motion of having a supposedly 'fair electoral process' every four to five years.

Yet Singapore is as much - if not even more - a Communist Government as PR China is Communist in its Political and Socialist Systems, and Capitalist in managing its Economy.

While the Singapore Government politicise the control mechanisms over the population with similar Communist efficiency, it does not accept those Socialist Responsibility as does the Communist States.

The Communist State Security Police has a free hand in executing their assigned responsibility of dealing with all forms of oppositions towards the legislation and policies rubber-stamped through the Communist People's Congress.

Singapore has the Internal Security Department with a special Internal Security Act', which is a law that is designed to make their work legal, and protect them from prosecution for violating any other legislations embodied in the Singapore Constitution that protects every Singaporean.

sgdiehard SG

USSR became a commie country before WW2, DPRK in 1948, PRC in 1947. Singapore established diplomatic relationship with USSR, now Russia in 1968, with DPRK in 1975 and PRC in 1990. I cannot see any relationship between singapore's diplomatic relationships among these three countries, regardless of their polticial ideologies.

It should be noted that singapore had relationship with DPRK 15 years ahead of PRC, the statement that "We even had a relationship with farking China, so whats with a smaller commie nation?" is totally irrelevant, not logical, and ignorant of facts.

The relevant question remains "what kind of relationship we have with a country like DPRK?" we had protested over the nuke test, can we severe tie? will our participation in economic sanction be effective? can we afford to?

Lets stop all these nonsense about whether singapore is democratic or not? Singapore IS NOT a democratic nation, SO? does that mean we should stop protesting against the nuke test?

laurence82 SG

I dont understand. Your first paragraph underscores what all of us have been saying all these time, and your second paragraph take a sudden U turn. Huh? What talking you?

And I dont understand your last two either. Why sudden talk about protesting nuke test and severing ties?