Near the North Pole the compass should always point South (ish). However, the horizontal component of the earth's magnetic field is weak so far North, and the vertical component or dip is so strong, that when the compass needle is not dipping down it aligns to any ferromagnetic material -- becoming quite useless for accurate navigation.
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4CU3c81fQGc/mqdefault.jpg)