Are the DPRK and former German Democratic Republic really the same ?

                                                  

The other day someone on Twitter compared the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DPRK)  to the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) . The GDR is missed by many of its former citizens and there is a lot of nostalgia for it (for one thing unlike West Germany , it was not run by a clique of former Nazi generals, ex SS officers, capitalists , landlords and speculators) . However the comparison was by a detractor of the DPRK and was intended to put the DPRK in a negative light . So are the DPRK and the former GDR similar ?

There are of course big similarities as both were  socialist states in divided nations and built socialism in confrontation with imperialism . Arguably the GDR along with Romania , was the DPRK’s closest friend among the East European socialist countries. Whilst there are quite a few similarities at the same time there were big differences . The DPRK pursued independence and developed its own independent ideology, the Juche idea , whereas the GDR maintained close ties with the former Soviet Union . President KIM IL SUNG once observed that It was said that when it rained in Moscow , people in East Berlin carried umbrellas. The GDR was a member of the Warsaw Pact and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance whereas the DPRK wanted to create an independent national Economy.The DPRK and GDR also had different policies towards reunification .

The ruling party of the GDR the SED (Socialist Unity Party) developed the theory of two German nations . The GDR established a permanent mission in West Germany . The DPRK , however , believes that there is only one Korean nation , not two and believes in reunification on the basis of independence .The DPRK has never recognised the south Korean puppet regime . The DPRK attached great emphasis to ideological work whereas the GDR did not and was flooded with Western imperialist culture and ideology. The DPRK is here to stay and will not collapse like the former GDR. So although at first glance there may be similarities between the DPRK and former GDR they are actually very different.