North Korea’s sudden closure of five embassies in Africa late last year signaled a major shift in its foreign policy approach, as Pyongyang pivots its focus to Russia and other friendly nations.

But despite the dramatic shakeup, the DPRK Embassy in Algiers has remained one of Pyongyang’s last footholds on the continent, revealing the symbolic importance to North Korea of the very first country both in Africa and the Arab world to host a full-fledged DPRK embassy.

In 1975, when both Koreas applied to join the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Algeria’s pro-Pyongyang stance played