Diplomatic relations at the legation level were established in 1947 and then to the rank of ambassador in 1959.

It was not until 2013, however, that Turkey established a resident embassy in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh.

[1] Part of the reason was the close relations that King Sihanouk developed[2] with North Korea.

Turkey, as a close ally to South Korea, refrained[2] from fostering relations with the King who maintained[2] his private residence in Pyongyang that was built for him by the president of North Korea, Kim Il Sung,[2] in the 1970s.

Relations improved[1] after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, when Cambodia started engaging with noncommunist states.