April 25, 2024
Analysis

Why the Sandinistas sent Kim Il Sung a stuffed crocodile carrying drinks

DPRK support for the Nicaraguan revolutionaries dates back to early 1970s and reflects support for liberation movements

Tucked away in North Korea’s International Friendship Exhibition, north of Pyongyang, is a one-of-a-kind gift — a stuffed crocodile carrying a tray of drinks.

The Sandinista rebels in Nicaragua sent this quirky gift to their North Korean comrade, Kim Il Sung, in the 1980s, and it has come to symbolize the relationship between the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and the Sandinistas.

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