Tag: Hamas

North Korea is denying they are providing weapons to Hamas, but the evidence is increasingly showing this to be untrue. What North Korea is probably doing is selling these weapons to Iran who then smuggles them to Hamas:

 South Korea’s spy agency on Monday confirmed suspicions that North Korean-made weapons are being used by the Hamas militant group in its war with Israel despite Pyongyang’s repeated denial of its arms transactions.

Releasing a new photo of a North Korean rocket part, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) confirmed a Voice of America (VOA) report that Hamas fighters used an F-7 rocket-propelled grenade launcher manufactured in North Korea.

A photo included in the VOA report published Friday showed that the fuse of an F-7 grenade launcher, allegedly used by Hamas, had on it a combination of Korean characters and numbers, such as “비저-7류” and “시8-80-53.” 

Asked about the report, the NIS said its “assessment is the same as the VOA report.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is a good thought experiment, would all these university students and other anti-Israeli activists come out in defense of North Korea if South Korea responded to a Hamas like attack from the Kim regime?:

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, central Seoul during a dinner meeting Sunday. 

“Even if North Korea miscalculates and commits any provocation, including a Hamas-style surprise attack, we will maintain a South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture that can immediately and resolutely punish it,” Yoon was quoted as saying, referring to the militant group’s attack on Israel last month.   
  
Austin conveyed U.S. President Joe Biden’s firm intent to further strengthen the robust South Korea-U.S. alliance more than ever, according to the presidential office.   
  
He reaffirmed his firm commitment to defend the South Korea by deploying the full spectrum of U.S. military capabilities.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the Kim regime plans to prop up their thug allies Hamas with more weapons:

National Intelligence Agency [JOONGANG ILBO]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered “comprehensive support for Palestine,” South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers at a closed-door audit on Wednesday. 
  
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) told members of the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee that Pyongyang “is planning how to fully exploit” the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, according to conservative People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum, who attended the meeting. 
  
Yoo also said that the NIS told lawmakers it “detected orders from Kim to provide comprehensive support for Palestine.” (….)

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) report follows the discovery of North Korean weaponry in the possession of Hamas, which conducted an armed raid into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,400 people and abducting over 200 into the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli authorities.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

A rally held in support of Palestine in Seoul on Sunday. Participants, ranging from Koreans to citizens of Egypt, Jordan and other countries in the region, uphold signs urging Israel to stop bombing Gaza. [YONHAP]

Fortunately according to the article no South Korean citizens were killed or kidnapped by Hamas:

South Korean tourists wait in line to check in for their return flight at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Oct. 10, 2023, amid an ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas militants. (Yonhap)

A South Korean passenger jet carrying dozens of citizens is set to return home from Israel, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, after violence erupted between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

The Korean Air Co. flight carrying 214 passengers, including 192 Korean nationals, departed from Tel Aviv at 1:50 p.m. Tuesday (local time) and is expected to arrive at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at around 6:10 a.m. on Wednesday.

It will be the first flight to transport South Koreans back home since tensions quickly escalated in the region after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel over the weekend.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If North Korea conducts a nuclear test getting international attention seems to be reason why they would do it, not a food crisis as the ROK government is speculating. A nuclear test may also be something done in coordination with Iran to divert U.S. resources from the Middle East as Iran continues to use its proxies there to wage war on Israel and Sunni Arab states:

The reigniting of the Israel-Hamas conflict, coupled with Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, could shift the United States’ attention further away from North Korea’s nuclear quandary, analysts said Tuesday.

The conflict flared up following the Palestinian militant group’s deadly surprise attack on Israel on Saturday, as Washington’s stated commitment to diplomacy with Pyongyang has fallen on deaf years amid the North’s unceasing drive for nuclear armament.

President Joe Biden pledged “full support” for Israel. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin deployed the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) Carrier Strike Group to the Eastern Mediterranean while Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the U.S.’ “solidarity” with Israel.

The U.S.’ apparent reapportioning of diplomatic and security resources for conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe has raised speculation that it would be harder for the U.S. to pay more attention to addressing the North Korean conundrum.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.