Hungarian Embassy in Angola, Telegram, 15 June 1977. Subject: Angolan-North Korean relations

According to the information provided by the [North] Korean ambassador, his government intends to increase its presence in Africa, and at the same time it seeks to gain support to the unification of the country. To achieve these aims, they extend the network of their diplomatic representations in Africa, and they also participate in every action and forum activity that might be helpful for them.

Their efforts include the development of bilateral relations. In Angola, he said, their initiatives had been favorably received so far. On the basis of an TSC [agreement on technical and scientific cooperation], at present 50 Korean technical experts work [in Angola], of whom 20 are [engaged] in agriculture, while 30 are providing guidance to the reconstruction of the textile industry. Their working conditions are identical with that of the other [technical experts]. According to their experiences, their technical experts easily endure the problems of accommodation and the working conditions. Their plans include the dispatching of additional technical experts, but for the time being, the Angolan side placed some more important issues on the agenda. In the opinion of the Koreans, the Angolan side, having been liberated from the paralyzing effect of the sabotage activities that affected the entire economy, should now give a green light to the assistance of the socialist countries, which would facilitate [economic] recovery.

According to the ambassador, Angolan-Korean cooperation has started in the field of ideology, too. On the initiative of the Angolan side, circles for the joint study of the works of [Agostinho] Neto and Kim Il Sung have been formed both in Luanda and in the countryside. They strove to broaden this [activity], but certain events have intervened.

Concerning the latter issue, I would like to note that it is being discussed even among the fraternal [diplomats] that the Korean [embassy] was one of those embassies which the Angolan official documents describe as having maintained contacts with the group of Nito Alves long before the events [the coup attempt of Alves in May 1977].

69 – A.