South Korea establishes diplomatic ties with Cuba, North Korea’s old friend

South Korea has established diplomatic relations with Cuba, one of North Korea's Cold War-era allies, the South Korean foreign ministry said on Wednesday. With their United Nations representatives exchanging letters in New York, the two countries have agreed to open diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level, the ministry said in a statement. Cuba continues to maintain close relations with North Korea, which were established in 1960, with their shared socialist ideology and their hostility towards the United States helping to bind them together.