Cuba’s past may be with North Korea but its future is with the South

When Cuba and democratic South Korea announced they would establish relations in February, it caught socialist North Korea by surprise. 

Since 1960, it was Pyongyang that touted its relationship with what it was calling the only socialist stronghold in the Americas, referring to Cubans as “socialist brethren” of North Koreans and referring to revolutionary leader Fidel Castro as a “comrade-in-arms” to national founder Kim Il Sung.

North Korea did not initially reveal to its people that Seoul and Havana were now on friendly terms, and it even stopped reporting on events in Cuba shortly after the announcement, but news trickled in by word of mouth, shocking many residents who felt as if Pyongyang were being further isolated by the move.

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The redefined relationship between Pyongyang’s close ally and closest rival would be a “political and psychological blow,” the South Korean presidential office said. 

When RFA Korean traveled to Havana to gauge reactions to establishing ties with Seoul they could only find faint traces of the 60-year relationship with North Korea, such as a high school that bears the name of Kim Il Sung, but does not follow any of his teachings.  

Meanwhile many Cubans spoke with excitement about closer ties with Seoul and were optimistic about opportunities and cultural exchanges that could arise as a result.