North Korean membership in international organizations is organized by category below.

UN Bodies

Organization Name Date Joined Notes
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)  1973  
World Health Organization (WHO) 1973  
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 1974 Withdrew membership in 1994
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 1974  
Universal Postal Union (UPU) 1974  
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) 1974  
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 1975  
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 1975  
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 1977  
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) 1977  
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 1979  
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) 1981  
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 1985  
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) 1985  
United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) 1986  
International Fund for Agricutural Development (IFAD) 1986  
International Maritime Organization (IMO) 1986  
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) 1987  
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) 1989  
United Nations (UN) 1991  
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) 1992  
United Nations Environment Programe (UNEP) 1994  
Conference on Disarmament (CD) 1996  

Multilateral Inter-Government Organizations

Organization Name Date Joined Notes
World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU)  1947 Joined through the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea prior to DPRK independence
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM) 1948  
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)  1954  
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS)  1956  
Joint Institute for Nuclear Reseach  1956  
Organization for Co-Operation between Railways (OSJD)  1956  
Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)  1958  
Group of 77 (G-77) 1964  
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) 1973  
Asia-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO)   1974  
International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) 1974 Correspondent Member
International Bureau of Education (IBE)  1975  
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) 1975  
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) 1978  
Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC)  1981  
International Bureau of Weights and Measures (IBWM) 1981  
Intersputnik International Organization of Space Communications 1983  
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)  1986 Withdrew 1996
International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) 1987  
Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) 1989  
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 1995  
The South Centre 1995  
International Textile & Clothing Bureau (ITCB)  1999  
International Telecommunications and Satellite Organization (ITSO or INTELSAT)  2001  
Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) 2001  
World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)  2001  
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)  2004 Associate member
Bureau International des Expositions (BIE)  2007  
Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI) 2010  
International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO)  2013  

Regional Organizations

Organization Name Date Joined Notes
Intergovernmental Organization for Marketing Information and Technical Advisory Services for Fishery Products in the Asian and Pacific Region (INFOFISH) 1987  
Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) 1991  
Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT)  1994  
Asia and Pacific Plant Protection Commission (APPPC)  1995  
Greater Tumen Initiative 1995 Withdrew 2009
ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) 2000  
Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) 2000  
Animal Production and Health Commission for Asia and the Pacific 2009  
Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) 2014 Observer

What are the sources for this data?

This list builds on a compilation provided by the South Korean Unification Ministry's NK Info website (in Korean), and is supplemented with data compiled through news reports, websites of the concerned organizations, and data from the UN Treaty Collection.

What major international organizations is North Korea not a member of?

North Korea is not a member of most international financial institutions, including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, or Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. North Korea is also not a member of the World Trade Organization, World Customs Organization, or the International Labor Organization.

North Korea is not a party to several international institutions focused on arms control and nonproliferation, such as the Organization for the Prohibition for Chemical Weapons, the Wassenaar Arrangement, or the Missile Technology Control Regime. North Korea withdrew from the IAEA in 1994.

Although North Korea is a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum, it is not a participant in the East Asia Summit.