Friendship through the flames of war between Vietnam and North Korea

US President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi on February 27-28. Analysts say the friendly relationship with North Korea is one of the important factors that helped Vietnam be chosen as the venue for this important event.

North Korea was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam, in 1950, after China and the Soviet Union. In the 1950s and 1960s, North Korea and Vietnam had close relations due to many similarities. Both countries were divided at this time, fighting against the United States, and receiving support from countries such as China and the Soviet Union.

After the Korean War of 1950-1953, North Korea sought support from the Soviet Union and China to maintain and develop a centralized socialist economy, achieving some achievements in infrastructure development, mining, and heavy industry in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Vietnam-North Korea relationship was strengthened during the war against the US, when North Korea sent nearly 100 young pilots and officers to study and train with Vietnamese fighter pilots and even directly participate in combat.

"There were two waves of North Korean troops coming to Vietnam to learn aircraft techniques. After mastering the techniques, some North Korean soldiers asked us to let them practice and fight in the battlefield like the Vietnamese Air Force," said Major General Phan Khac Hy, former Political Commissar of the Air Force Command.

During the period 1966-1969, North Korean pilots fought mainly in the airspace around Hanoi such as Vinh Phuc, Hai Duong and Hung Yen, shooting down 26 American aircraft. The North Korean pilots contributed their blood and bones to the war, when 14 people sacrificed and were buried in the cemetery of Bac Giang province.

In addition, North Korea also helped Vietnam train hundreds of students in the 1960s and 1970s and provided aid with cement, steel, fabrics, medicine, and fertilizers.

In 1957, Vietnam-North Korea relations witnessed an important milestone when President Ho Chi Minh visited North Korea. Pyongyang residents lined both sides of the road to welcome President Ho Chi Minh's car as it passed by. During the visit, President Ho Chi Minh met with Premier Kim Il Sung, visited Gochang Farm in South Pyongan Province and a school in Pyongyang.

A year later, Premier Kim Il Sung visited Vietnam. Many Hanoians took to the streets waving the flags of both countries and applauding to welcome him. President Ho Chi Minh accompanied him to the West Lake Resort, the Nam Dinh Textile Factory and visited Tu Liem District, where the Vietnam-North Korea friendship project was located. Kim Il Sung also visited the Army Officers School in Son Tay and the Vietnam Military History Museum.

In June 1961, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong paid an official visit to North Korea. Three years later, Kim Il Sung returned to Vietnam in November 1964. This time he and his delegation visited Ha Long Bay.

After the liberation of the South and reunification of the country in 1975, Vietnam took a different path from North Korea. It normalized relations with South Korea in 1992 and with the United States in 1995. The Doi Moi reforms launched in 1986 promoted a socialist-oriented market economy, with exports increasing by 70%, with reforms such as ending price controls and encouraging private enterprise. Vietnam is now one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, North Korea faced many difficulties, especially in terms of energy and food. North Korea remained closed to the rest of the world and tensions with the US and South Korea had not yet dissipated.

Vietnam has provided rice aid to North Korea many times. When a severe famine occurred in North Korea in 1994-1998, Vietnam provided 100 tons of rice in 1995 and 13,000 tons of rice in 1997. During the period 2000-2012, Vietnam provided North Korea with 22,700 tons of rice, 5 tons of raw rubber and 50,000 USD.

In 1993, North Korea and Vietnam jointly invested in a silkworm factory worth about $3.5 million in Hai Duong, with raw materials supplied by Vietnam and machinery (imported from Japan) supplied by North Korea. In 1994, Vietnam withdrew from the joint venture and North Korea operated independently. In 2001, North Korea sold the factory to Vietnam.

Vietnam's export turnover to North Korea in 2015 reached 11.6 million USD. In 2017, Vietnam had a trade surplus with North Korea of ​​7.322 million USD, mainly in food and confectionery, and there is no import data from North Korea. Trade transactions between the two countries are mainly conducted through Chinese intermediaries, the scale of transactions is small and unstable.

Highlights in the bilateral relationship include the Vietnam-North Korea Friendship Kindergarten in Hanoi and the Vietnam-North Korea Friendship Kyongsang Kindergarten in Pyongyang. The school in Hanoi was established in 1965 with funding from North Korea and is now considered one of the top kindergartens in Hanoi.

In June 2012, on the occasion of Kim Il Sung’s 100th birthday, North Korean officials visited a kindergarten in Hanoi with 6 teachers and 13 students from Kyongsang. The school received the First Class Friendship Medal from North Korea and the First Class Labor Medal from Vietnam.

Diplomatic relations between Hanoi and Pyongyang have been significantly strengthened since the late 2000s with visits such as the visit to North Korea by former General Secretary Nong Duc Manh in 2007 and former Minister of Public Security Le Hong Anh in 2008. Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly Kim Yong Nam and Premier of the North Korean Cabinet Kim Yong Il visited Vietnam in 2001 and 2007, respectively.

Hanoi supports North Korea's membership in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and has welcomed several delegations from North Korea to visit and learn from its experiences.

During the visit to Vietnam by North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho in November 2018, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh affirmed that Vietnam is ready to share with North Korea its experience in nation building, socio-economic development and international integration based on North Korea's requests.

During Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh's official visit to North Korea from February 12-14, Mr. Ri thanked Vietnam for its stance and efforts in promoting the dialogue process for peace, security, cooperation and development on the Korean peninsula.

Experts say a visit to Vietnam planned for later this month could be an opportunity for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to learn from Vietnam's economic development model.

"Kim will want to see the Vietnam story for himself and that could be a source of inspiration and reflection for him to think about how to develop North Korea," Le Hong Hiep, an expert at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, told Reuters.AFP.