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 North Korea |  Vietnam |
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| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of North Korea,Hanoi | Embassy of Vietnam,Pyongyang |
North Korea and the former countryNorth Vietnam established formal diplomatic relations on January 31, 1950. In July 1957, North Vietnam PresidentHo Chi Minh visited North Korea; North Korean prime ministerKim Il Sung visited North Vietnam in November–December 1958 and November 1964. In February 1961, the two governments concluded an agreement on scientific and technical cooperation. North Vietnam annexedSouth Vietnam in 1976 to become the modern country ofVietnam.
During theVietnam War, North Korea provided substantial economic and military aid to North Vietnam (1966: 12.3 millionrubles; 1967: 20 million; 1968: 12.5 million; 1969: 12.5 million). In 1968, approximately 2,000 Vietnamese students and trainees received education for free in Korea.[1] As a result of a decision of theKorean Workers' Party in October 1966, in early 1967 North Korea sent a fighter squadron to North Vietnam to back up the North Vietnamese 921st and 923rd fighter squadrons defending Hanoi. They stayed through 1968; 200 pilots were reported to have served. In addition, at least two anti-aircraft artillery regiments were sent as well. North Korea also sent weapons, ammunition and two million sets of uniforms to their comrades in North Vietnam.[2] Kim Il Sung is reported to have told his pilots to "fight in the war as if the Vietnamese sky were their own."[3][4][5]
From 1968, however, relations between Pyongyang and Hanoi started to deteriorate for various reasons. Anxious to keep the United States bogged down in Vietnam, North Korea disagreed with North Vietnam's decision to enter peace negotiations with the U.S., and reacted negatively to theParis Peace Accords.[1] During theCambodian Civil War, North Korea approved the Chinese plan to create a "united front of the five revolutionary Asian countries" (China, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia), whereas North Vietnam rejected it on the grounds that such a front would exclude the Soviet Union and challenge Vietnamese dominance in Indochina.[6] Around this time, the Vietnam War came to an end. The government of North Vietnam, unlike that of North Korea, succeeded in reunifying the whole country by 1975. During theCambodian–Vietnamese War, the North Korean leadership condemned the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, refused to recognize thePeople's Republic of Kampuchea, and allowed the exiledNorodom Sihanouk to stay in Korea.[7] North Korea also provided supports for theKhmer Rouge during that time, sided with China during theSino-Vietnamese War, and also demanded Vietnam to be removed from theNon-Aligned Movement.[8] According to historian Balazs Szalontai, Vietnam came to resent what it saw as North Korea's self-centred behaviour, and the two governments became rivals rather than friends.[9] During the same time,Pol Pot,General Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea and the leader ofKhmer Rouge, managed to have a visit to North Korea, one of only two foreign trips led by Pol Pot, further strained North Korean–Vietnamese relations, as Pol Pot was a recognized enemy of Vietnam.[10]
In the 1990s and 2000s, North Korean-Vietnamese relations declined even more due to investment and trade disputes.[11][12]
The former Vietnamese ambassador to South Korea is a graduate of North Korea'sKim Il Sung University.[13] The son of a former staff member in the Vietnamese embassy in Pyongyang, who also attended Kim Il Sung University between 1998 and 2002, gave an interview in 2004 withSouth Korean newspaperThe Chosun Ilbo about the experiences he had while living there.[14]
While its giant neighbor China is an obvious example of economic reform to follow, experts say Vietnam is seen as a far better model by North Korea.[15]
Kim Jong Un came to Vietnam on February 26, 2019, on a 60-hour train ride to attend theHanoi Summit with U.S. PresidentDonald Trump.[16] He was greatly welcomed by the Vietnamese officials and made a visit to the North Korean Embassy in Hanoi. On March 1 and 2, Kim Jong Un made an official visit to Vietnam, 60 years after his grandfatherKim Il Sung's first visit to the country. He met theVietnamese President andGeneral SecretaryNguyễn Phú Trọng, Prime MinisterNguyễn Xuân Phúc and National Assembly ChairwomanNguyễn Thị Kim Ngân. Both countries agreed on tightening diplomatic ties and economy, which was damaged by previous North Korean support for theKhmer Rouge.
General SecretaryTô Lâm visited North Korea in October 2025 to meet Kim Jong Un.The exact dates were later confirmed to be October 9–11, which coincided with the 80th anniversary of the host country's Workers' Party of Korea. This visit was at the invitation of Kim Jong Un, as confirmed by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and it was deemed as a success.[17][18][19] Kim Jong Un welcomed the General Secretary Tô Lâm on October 9, 2025, marking the first visit by Tô Lâm while holding the supreme leadership position of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The visit also marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between North Korea and Vietnam.[20][21]
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