Loss of influence and fall of North Korean diplomacy in Latin America: Notes and perceptions from Latin American political elites at the beginning of the 21st century.

Abstract

This research characterizes and explains the loss of influence and the decline of North Korean diplomacy at the beginning of the 21st century, taking as a key study variable the perception of Latin American political elites given the secrecy of the “Hermit Kingdom.” Of course, the study period also included a broader temporal segment in order to cover the establishment of diplomatic relations and the main issues that framed the evolution of the relationship.

Therefore, we work on two levels of analysis: a) official relations and b) unofficial relations. From a methodological point of view, we start from a qualitative approach in order to be able to account for the most significant details, that is, we do not seek to make generalizations but rather to consider the specificity and particularity of each case. We carry out in-depth interviews and exhaustive work on documentary analysis and documentary archives. As the main research technique, we resorted to the case study and structured the research program in three phases. Each difficult phase lasts a year, the third is ongoing, but advanced, and two cases were studied in each of these phases: a) Argentina and Brazil; b) Mexico and Cuba and c) Venezuela and Chile.

This research sought to systematize and document the knowledge and experience of the directing actors in the Latin American political groups that forged and maintain today a bridge between North Korea and the region.