Why the Sandinistas sent Kim Il Sung a stuffed crocodile carrying drinks | NK News
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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
Benjamin R. Young November 8, 2021
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Why the Sandinistas sent Kim Il Sung a stuffed crocodile carrying drinks
Foreign Languages Publishing House | A delegation from Nicaragua gifted this stuffed crocodile holding cups to Kim Il Sung in 1982. The crocodile is pictured here in a special publication by North Korea's International Friendship Exhibition House released Sept. 2021

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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About the Author

Benjamin R. Young

Benjamin R. Young

Benjamin R. Young, Ph.D. has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University, Dakota State University and the U.S. Naval War College. He is currently a Stanton Foundation Nuclear Security Fellow at the RAND Corporation. He is the author of the book "Guns, Guerillas, and the Great Leader: North Korea and the Third World" (Stanford University Press, 2021).

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