The fact that Mongolia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) have maintained relatively continuous friendly relations with each other since 1948 may surprise some. In fact, there has always been a mutual understanding between the two peoples, which at first sight and from the outside was difficult to understand. But the ‘chemistry’ between them was simply right. On the one hand, this may have had to do with the fact that the same great powers had intervened in the creation of both states, and that in Ulaanbaatar and Pyongyang they saw themselves in a community of destiny.