Until the early 1970s, all Western countries argued that the existence of the United Nations Commission for the Unification and Rehabilitation of Korea (UNCURK) in 1950 precluded them from recognizing the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, more popularly known as North Korea. The United Nations (UN) had only recognized one legitimate government on the Korean peninsula, the Republic of Korea, or South Korea. By 1973, however, there seemed little possibility of UNCURK ever fulfilling its role, and in a new atmosphere created by the first talks between the two Koreas since the end of the Korean War it was quietly wound up by agreement on all sides. At that point, a number of Western countries, most prominently the Nordic group, established relations with North Korea. However, they did not establish diplomatic missions in the North's capital, Pyongyang, preferring to cross-accredit staff from their embassies in Beijing.

After about a year, however, Sweden broke ranks and established a diplomatic presence in Pyongyang. This, as the first head of the post now recounts, was not for ideological reasons, but because Sweden had a practical problem that needed solving. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the North Koreans had gone on a buying spree in Europe to update machinery and equipment installed after the Korean War that was outdated and had begun to run down. Many Western European companies, including Swedish companies, responded positively to North Korean requests. After all, no communist country had defaulted on its debts up to that point, and it was widely assumed that Moscow in particular would come to the aid of any of its ‘satellite’ allies should they find themselves in difficulties. Unfortunately, the North Koreans had got into difficulties with repayments and Moscow showed no disposition to bale them out. So North Korea defaulted on its debts, including debts to Sweden. Under pressure from Swedish business, therefore, the Swedish government decided in autumn 1974 to open an embassy in Pyongyang.

Erik Cornell, a diplomat with experience in development work, was appointed to head this embassy, although the Swedish ambassador in Beijing remained the formal head of post. In addition to his personal story, Cornell spends about a third of the book defining Marxism-Leninism, and in explaining why North Korea is not really a Marxist-Leninist state.