China's and North Korea's communist parties came to power at similar times, in nations though distinct with a great deal of shared history and culture. While their specific paths to power were very different the form of communism they implemented during their first two decades of rule bared great resemblances to each other. Both also conducted political experiments and developed personality cults around their leaders in this time. Only in the 1970s did the versions of communism the two practised begin to diverge dramatically.