The Communist Party of Denmark (Kommunistisk Parti) has ended its membership with the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) in Denmark, stating that North Korean socialism is not real socialism, Yonhap News reported on Sunday.

The Kommunistisk Parti pointed out that the KFA in Denmark backs up the Workers’ Party of Korea (KPA) without criticism, and emphasized its opposition to nuclear weapons, stated at the party convention of November 2014. The party did, however, say that North Korea is under the threat of U.S. imperialism.

“The party supports the North Korean public’s anti-imperialist struggle but the North Korean system is not socialism and the KPA is not a communist party,” reads the letter from the party to the KFA, as carried by Yonhap.

The KFA is a global network of pro-North Korean groups organized by Alejandro de Cao Benos of Spain, often mentioned on Pyongyang’s state-run media outlets.

“The Danish KFA has, so far, been a strictly controlled communist front organization for the communist party,” Chris Holmsted Larsen, lecturer on history and society at Roskilde University in Denmark, told NK News.

Vladimir Tikhonov, professor at Oslo University in Norway, said European progressive politics provide three distinctive judgments on North Korean ideology: socialism, state capitalism and avoidance of definition.

“(European) left-wing parties with public support are reluctant to deal with demonized nations like North Korea, since the mainstream media scorn their ideology,” Tikhonov told NK News.

Tikhonov said the matter concerns the fundamental definition of socialism.

“If we define socialism as a public economic system with direct democracy achieving the liberation of people, it is difficult to see that North Korea achieved this even though they aimed to do so at an early period,” he said.

Larsen said North Korea’s rogue nuclear policy has damaged communist parties’ efforts.

“The Kommunistisk Parti’s support for the DPRK has caused considerable conflict with other more moderate Danish communist and socialist parties, who all have distanced themselves from the DPRK dictatorship,” Larsen said.

Kommunistik Parti representatives visited Pyongyang, according to a Korea Central News Agency report in April 2002, and declared a joint statement respecting the June 15 agreement reached at the inter-Korean summit of 2000.

Established in 1968, the Danish KFA has organized social meetings to share the experiences of visiting North Koreans and has provided funding for humanitarian aid for the North Korean village Unha-ri.

In April 2017 and September 2018, the members will travel North Korea for 11 days.

In 2006, Anders Kristensen, chairman of the Danish KFA visited North Korea and also contributed towards a joint statement. Kristensen is still serving as chairman this year, according to its website.

However, the influence of the organization is very limited and the relationship between the Pyongyang and KFA only has symbolic meaning.

“They are a very small group with a dwindling number of members, who are mostly veterans from the days of the Cold War and dogmatic communist splinter parties,” Larsen said.

Featured Image: Screenshot from Danish KFA website