Korea, Democratic People's Republic of (DPRK) - International cooperation

During the mid-1970s, the DPRK came out of its relative isolation to pursue a vigorous international diplomacy. By 1986, it had diplomatic relations with 103 countries, including 67 that also had relations with the ROK. The DPRK is a member of the UN and certain non-regional specialized UN agencies, including FAO, ICAO, IFAD, IMO, ITU, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, and WMO. The nation has signed the Law of the Sea and has been particularly active in third-world diplomacy; in August 1975, the DPRK entered the League of Non-Aligned Nations, and it has since joined G-77. The DPRK retains treaties of friendship, cooperation, and mutual defense concluded with China and the republics of the former USSR in 1961. The DPRK was the only Asian Communist country to remain neutral in the Sino-Soviet dispute. The DPRK withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 2003.