[1] President Dawda Jawara established relations with the DPRK in March 1973, having first reassured South Korea that the move – in line with the country's non-aligned policies – would not interfere with ties to Seoul.

The journalist and politician Melvin Benoni Jones served as its president for some time, advocating closer ties between The Gambia and both the DPRK and the Soviet Union.

[3] According to the retired Lt. Col. Samsudeen Sarr's autobiography, the Gambian defence ministry hosted an official delegation to Pyongyang in October 1996, visiting among other places the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.

DPRK negotiators declined a proposed military cooperation plan, demanding payment from the Gambians in hard cash and in United States dollars.

[6] Under the government of President Yahya Jammeh, The Gambia has sometimes been referred to as the "North Korea of Africa" or similar terms, expressions which unfavourably compare the human rights situation and political structure in the two countries.