The Great Friendship between Cuba and North Korea
HAVANA TIMES – Cuban First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel has been touring North Korea, a country with strong governmental ties to the Caribbean Island. Both countries reject international criticism of their human rights records and have always pointed to the United States as the worst violator.
While Cuba is now in a process of rapprochement with Washington, US ties with Pyongyang remain weak.
Diaz-Canel is scheduled to take over as president of Cuba when Raul Castro retires in 2018, which would bring an end to 59 years of rule by the Castro brothers. Kim Jong Un is in the third generation of family rule in North Korea.
The following is an article published Monday by Progreso Weekly quoting the Cuban and North Korean press, who, in their non-informative language, report on the visit of Diaz-Canel to the Asian country.
Cuban VP Díaz-Canel meets with North Korean president
Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s supreme leader, met in Pyongyang with Miguel Díaz-Canel, vice president of Cuba, “who is visiting that sisterly nation on the occasion of the celebration of the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” the website Cubadebate reported on Monday.
“During the encounter, they exchanged views on the excellent state of the bilateral links, characterized by close relations of cooperation and mutual support in multiple spheres, as well as the current situation in Asia and Latin America,” Cubadebate said.
“Kim Jong Un sent a warm greeting to the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, and the president of the Councils of State and Ministers, Army Gen. Raúl Castro Ruz. After the meeting, the leader invited the Cuban delegation to enjoy a concert in honor of the visitors.”
The following account of Díaz-Canel’s previous activities in Pyongyang is extracted from reports from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea], hosted a Cuban state delegation headed by Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, first vice president of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers of Cuba, which paid a courtesy call on him at the Mansudae Assembly Hall Saturday [Sept.5.]
“The friendly relations between the two countries provided by the great Comrade Kim Il Sung and Comrade Kim Jong Il together with Comrades Fidel Castro Ruz and Raúl Castro Ruz are steadily developing under the special care of Comrade Kim Jong Un and Comrade Raúl Castro Ruz,” Díaz-Canel said.
“Cuba and the DPRK are far away from each other geographically but they are firmly united, thanks to the common idea and friendship, and the two peoples are comrades-in-arms standing together on the forefront for independence against imperialism.”
Díaz-Canel thanked the Workers’ Party and government of Korea for extending solidarity to the Cuban people in the struggle to shatter the U.S. blockade against Cuba, adding that Cuba is always fully supportive of the DPRK’s cause.
Earlier on Saturday, Díaz-Canel met with Premier Pak Pong Ju, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
Later in the day, the Cuban delegation visited Mangyongdae, the birthplace of the late President Kim Il Sung. As they were briefed on the revolutionary career of the president, the guests viewed the historic relics preserved with much care at his old home.
The delegation also toured the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, the Museum of Weapons and Equipment of the Korean People’s Army, and other sites
The Cuban delegation arrived in Pyongyang on Friday [Sept. 4] from Beijing, where it attended the Victory Day celebrations.
It was greeted at the airport by Foreign Minister Ri, Vice Minister Ri, and So Ho Won, vice chairman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries.
From there, the delegation visited the statues of President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il on Mansu Hill, laid a floral wreath before the statues and paid tribute to them.
Also on Friday, talks were held between Yang Hyong Sop, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea and vice-president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, and Díaz-Canel at the Mansudae Assembly Hall.
At the talks, both sides exchanged their views on the issue of developing the friendly relations between the two countries and matters of mutual concern.
Daily news feed back
Syria, Cuba, North Korea and Iran are all allies. And yesterday we learned that Russian soldiers are now in Syria helping Assad. Nasty murderous birds of a feather sure do stick together.
Japan attacked the U.S. first and invaded all of her neighbouring countries: Korea, China, Taiwan, Philipines, Indochina, & New Guinea. It was in response to Japanese imperialism that the U.S. declared war on Japan.
Or were you unaware of this historical fact?
A true atatement nidal, but that still did not answer Carlyles statement
“get rid of desire and you will get rid of pain “Buddha.
Miserable I am NOT satisfied I am definitely
Can you get along without money? Is that why you are miserable?
That’s good news for Wolf!
Nidal, in this country you have access to all the news you care to see, from anywhere in the world. Would you care to name just one news outlet you trust which cant be accessed here in the US
….using your logic, the US moon landings never took place because you were not there you see it.
Take a look at those pictures again Nidal. They were provided to the UN by North Korean escapees. Nothing to do with the US.
Wandering around again aren’t we nidal.
……did you look at those pictures nidal? Not a perfect country you said. Quite the understatement don’t you think?
Oh but you do have a choice
like I said before there is no such thing as a perfect country , sense we are on the subject of humanity what about Guantanamo ? where is it on the humanity skill ? why is it that the US does not follow its own law ? how come there is individuals who committed no crime in prison and being tortured by the United States America ? and they do that in somebody else’s country ?
what does it say that the US have the right to tell me what is humane was not ?
what about the US financed concentration camp Gaza where is the humanity there ?
Julian Assange try to exercise his free speech look what happened to him .
the news we got in this country is highly suspicious to say the least from any source , if I I’m not there on the ground and see it for myself I would have difficult time believing it
I care for all of humanity , I got nothing against American , I have everything against the American establishment especially coming out of Palestine , I would hate to see the misery which was inflicted on the Middle East be extended to Cuba ,
Adopted homeland ???? I don’t have much of a choice in that ,
The mess that was called Syria and the “genocide” as you call it, is a consequence of the dictatorial Asad family regime.
Those fleeing from that terror, don’t go to Cuba, they don’t go to North Korea, they don’t go to Russia, they don’t go to Venezuala nor do those countries offer them refuge.
The refugees choose to risk their lives and try to go to the capitalist Western World because it offers freedom and a future for their children. That Western World has opened its doors with remarkable levels of hospitality. Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon are now overloaded with millions of refugees from Syria. But the Castro family regime is an ally of the Asads.
Correction nidal! I cannot recall criticism of Cuba in these pages. Criticism of the Castro family regime however abounds. We who criticize that regime base those criticisms upon what we know goes on in Cuba. No doubt there are blogs that as a primary concern, address the Middle East.
No nidal. Independent observers, as well as North Koreans who escaped, have said so. I don’t even think North Korea hides that fact. I don’t watch FOX….what’s your excuse?
To bring your constantly wandering focus back on point…..
You should Google “North Korean Escapee drawins”. You will see some of the most horrific screens of degradation and torture the world has ever seen. I believe you can also find it in AlJezeera, if you don’t trust others “western” sources.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2561992/Shocking-sketches-emerge-life-North-Koreas-gulags-showing-prisoners-resort-eating-mice-snakes-beaten-vomited-blood.html
You may hate the U.S., and that’s fine, that’s your opinion. But really nidal, this is what you prefer? Please nidal, don’t day that. There is a reason that the UN recommended the entire North Korean leadership tried for crimes against humanity.
Well I’m sure you could, Cuba however is another matter. That’s why, if they speak another language, it tends to be English.
…and why would you be so rude to someone actively trying to work on ending the embargo and bringing business to Cuba? Could it be you hate the U.S. ( your adopted homeland) than you care for Cuba?
….just saying
I try not to be a sync. But do you really think so?
And how many were killed with American bombs ? United States failed their fleet halfway across the planet and committed war crimes against Japan , Korea ,Vietnam .
So what is the American body count right now three four million , what the Koreans did between themselves is their business , nobody have the right to go in with bombs and try to change them , remember what they used to say in Vietnam
“to save a village is the barren the village ”
so many wars have been started because of American gunboat diplomacy , you need to stop being a bunch of hypocrites .
who told you that Fox News
When Al jazeera first came on I was one of the first people to call and ask for it after I watching them for a while
I became disgusted with him , eventually I cancelled my subscription package at Dish network that includes Al Jazeera and CNN, unfortunately Aljazeera right now is promotion genocide in Syria .
it also brings about misery just , about whatever the US dollar want misery followed.
We are “loudmouth” because we express views that disagree with yours?
Do you choose to ignore the fact that North Korea is a cruel dictatorship or are you willfully ignorant? Do you realize that North Koreans have no access to the internet and certainly don’t have the freedom to comment on a blog like this one. Please share how this visit will benefit the people, not the government, of North Korea and Cuba.
Your obvious anti-US feelings do not jibe with the fact that you continue to live in the US, and worse yet, by your own telling, receive government aid in order to live. Carlyle McDuff has effectively addressed a few of the mistakes in your comment. I would add simply this: for all of the many flaws in the US system, do you understand that you have more rights and freedoms here than you would enjoy in your native Palestine?
…..the internet is not available in North Korea
Your choice of regime is quite telling nidal. Your two favorite countries share much n common. Although North Korea takes it to a monstrous level. Just a couple of commonalities; inconsistent food supplies ( how many have starved to death in North Korea) cult of personality rule, controlled and limited access to information from the outside world, no freedom of expression.
“with the Internet we could reach all of our humanity and do good”. So nidal, you at least recognize the benefits of a system devised by a British WASP, but denied to the people of Cuba?
The Kims and Castros deserve each other! Where are the benefits that you apparently perceive.?
Maybe it was the Castros breaking the UN ban on supplying North Korea with arms, by hiding them -including a fighter jet, under a load of sugar?
nidal, as usual you are wandering all over the map.
But to answer only a few of your multitude of questions:
In these pages I wrote of the construction of Jewish houses on the West Bank and suggested that the US ought to reduce its financial support of Israel by 1 million dollars per year for each additional house – each year! So your statement that “none of you complain about what (the) Israelies are doing to the Palestinians” is incorrect.
With regard to Japan, it was Japan that invaded Korea and China and then destroyed Nanking – including some 40,000 people. Subsequently it was Japan that attacked the US at Pearl Harbour. You criticize imperialism – so why defend Japan? It was Japan that used allied prisoners as slave labour in commercial companies – two of them being Nissan and Mitsubishi.
Kim Jung Un the current pudgy family dictator in North Korea was at school in Switzerland – so obviously his dictator father didn’t consider the educational system in North Korea good enough for his son. As the “young warrior” you so describe and admire, he doesn’t make a particularly impressive figure. I however recognise that the haircut being “short back and sides” is similar to that which the British Army imposed on its troops.
Back in 1976, I was visiting the US when it was celebrating the 200th anniversary of independence. If you care to check history you will find that you are incorrect in saying that American history is only 200 years old. Try the Mayflower!
Also as an illustration of throwing in the irrelevant, you should know that Winston Churchill had Iriquois blood in his veins.
The commonality you refer to between North Korea, Cuba and Syria is that they are communist totalitarian states ruled by dictators, each of a given family
Your trouble is nidal that you flail around in your anger and frustration, making incorrect statements many of them irrelevant to the subject. Take a deep breath, cool down and try to be logical.
Forget your supposed racial superiority – you without the “guilt” of being a WASP, and remember that the other contributors glean knowledge from similar news sources to your own and from personal experience. Just because you don’t agree with them isn’t reason for abuse.
“Money makes the world go around”
For one thing it shows that there is a whole planet out there , that we ( humanity ) could do without the US just fun.
Miguel Diaz-Canel, the supposed designated successor to President Raul Castro in 2018, has demonstrated with this visit to North Korea, and the comments attributed to him, that he is not fit to be the future leader of a nation in the Caribbean or the Western Hemisphere. If this is the post-Castro course for Cuba, Cubans on the island should react to thwart it by steering a more honorable and decent path by utilizing whatever means are available to them.
Getting to friendly with US scares them. This will help slow things down a bit. It does clarify who they are for those thought they had turned into flower children. But not to worry they still need a deal. Their patron, Venezuela is imploding.
I was hoping to keep the entire article about Cuba unfortunately there are some out there who blame everything wrong Under the Sun on Cuba , once and for all if you want to understand what’s going on in the Middle East please read the following article
http://www.globalresearch.ca/greater-israel-the-zionist-plan-for-the-middle-east/5324815
….ok then. Here’s what Al Jazeera has to say about North Korea
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/11/18/un-panel-calls-fornorthkoreareferraltointernationalcourt.html
I’m quite sure I could do without you
erikand99
My friend you have spoken well , good work keep it coming, do not get intimidated buy a bunch of loudmouth Americans,
in the Middle East we have an old saying it goes like this ,
“those who see something wrong and keep quiet are silent devil ”
I always say do good within your arms reach , with the Internet we could reach all of our humanity and do good .
As you go on in life keep in mind the last place you want to get your news from is American sources with a few exceptions.
For crying out loud where do you all get your news from Fox News ? come on people are you that god damn ignorant ,wake up , north Korea Cuba and Syria have the same common denominator, American misery which was inflicted on them .
Was it the Koreans who bombed the US or was it US who used chemical and biological warfare on them and split one family into two ?
I am glad that there is a strong honorable warrior standing up in front off American aggression in North Korea.
Kim Jong-un maybe a young warrior except his history goes back thousands of years , American history is only 200 years old , Koreans have been living and doing humanity for a whole lot longer then the US ,
Did the US apologize for the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki , after all they are the only ones who used such horrifying weapons on innocent civilians.
George Bush calling them the axis of evil , hi was threatening them with war , what do you expect them to do?
Sit on their hands and wait until a mushroom cloud is over there country ?
During the Cold War the balance of power was good for humanity , hopefully we’ll go back to an equal balance and not leave the planet in front off American hegemony,
On the subject of the Middle East
if it wasn’t for McCain establishing and encouraging Isis thugs giving them weapons we will not have the Syrian refugees in the first place , as we say in the Middle East ” it is nothing more than an American finance jihad going on in Syria ”
On the Internet there is pictures of John McCain standing with Isis leader Al Baghdadi , see it for yourself, as the old saying goes” birds of a feather flock together”
All of this misery is for sake of protecting the Jewish state .
How many refugees have united state taken in , what about concentration camp Gaza , where is your humanity ? how come none of you complain about what Israelis doing to the Palestinians ?
Cuba would have be much different if it wasn’t for American aggression , please try and keep in mind that North Korea and Cuba are independent nations recognized by the United Nations , they are free to do whatever they feel like and it’s none of America’s damn business to tell them how to live their lives .
In so called American democracy , just about anyone who signed on the application to run for the President of the United States , he or she might as well sign there own death warrant , what democracy , most Americans did not want war in Iraq , the war was against United States and international law , Bush did it anyway , millions died upon millions , did any of you complain or mention humanity , did any of you call for Justice and war crimes against the genocide in the Middle East , come on people stop being hypocrites.
What kind of cabal are you .
OK fine. I get it! Cuba wants to be friends with everyone. Needless to say, the Cuban government craves it particularly after having been isolated by the U.S. for 53+ years. This is one of the results of that and of course there is also trade, and money talks. It still makes my stomach sick particularly when we all know how despicable the N. Korean leader is. BARF!
How does this help the people’s of Cuba and North Korea? Can you expound on your statement, please.
Given the opportunity I believe that the people of Cuba would be smarter than that. This visit is about mutual admiration of power and control by two family regimes. Diaz-Canel is a personally selected representative of Raul Castro Ruz and knows to keep his mouth shut when in public.
North Korea is the most monstrously evil state on earth. What values do they share with the Castro regime in Cuba?
Arms dealing, drug smuggling, forced labour prisons, police state oppression, no human rights, no freedoms & dictatorship for life.
The friendship discussed is between the two communist dictatorial family regimes of the Kims in North Korea and the Castros in Cuba.
Each family succeeded in gaining power and control over a nation. The peoples of North Korea and of Cuba have no say being denied the right of political expression. Both families have sought the power of nuclear weapons and in the case of the Castros, Fidel Castro urged their use upon the US.
It will be interesting to see if the pudgy Kim Jung Un pays a visit to Cuba – and whether he dare leave his fiefdom.
As for the happy go lucky (see photograph above) Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, he carefully avoids making public speeches, so what is he thinking?
Another similar family friend of the Castros is Bashar Asad of the Asad family dynasty. His success can be measured by the millions of Syrians who have fled to Turkey and Jordan and are now seeking refuge in Western Europe for hundreds of thousands. No word of Putin’s Russia or Cuba accepting those refugees who are fleeing from their amigo. The Castro family regime as friends of the Asad regime provided 500 tank drivers (for Russian tanks) for the invasion of Israel (Yum KIppur War).
Apparently hard-core socialists and communists find much to admire in these family regimes. Many of the admirers of the Castros must be praying for yet another Castro to assume the prize of Presidency in Cuba.
Why do people seek refuge and a future in the capitalist countries when socialism beckons – and where is the concern for humanity in those much admired family regimes?
Where are the answers, who is prepared to express their reasons for their admiration of family dictatorships and totalitarian rule?
Cuba and Peoples Korea are friends and brothers in arms. This is a good visit that benefits both countries and peoples in the struggle against american imperialism and hegemonism
Oh my God. I am working my ass off doing what I can to help re-establish business relations with Cuba and they do this. Someone please tell them that it’s hard enough and if they continue down this path, the blockade will stay in place another 50 years. This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
This is the sorta Sh!+ that drives me crazy. The Cuban regime is good friends with a kindred spirit, an authoritarian regime that projects a cult of personality and an amount of control over its citizens that boarders on the obscene. ….save to say that the Cuban regime wishes it could exert the same type of control oved its people?
The roaring silence of the Castro sycophants who frequent HT is deafening. “Birds of a feather, flock together” has never been more true.
Wow! I thought Cuba was smarter than that!