South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) on Monday released a photo of a North Korean F-7 rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) that was reportedly used by Hamas terrorists.
The South Korean government said it is “very seriously concerned about the transfer of North Korean weapons” to hostile overseas forces.
(LEAD) S. Korea's spy agency confirms Hamas' suspected use of N. Korean weapons https://t.co/k7dAojmp9z
— Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) January 8, 2024
South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk noted that any arms traffic with North Korea violates several U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, threatens international safety, and jeopardizes the security of the Korean Peninsula.
The NIS published a photo of a captured Hamas rocket grenade that had Korean writing on its fuse. The NIS said this evidence supported a report published by Voice of America News (VOA) on Friday that revealed North Korean weapons had been recovered from Hamas fighters, as well as the Iran-backed Houthi insurgents of Yemen.
In addition to the portable rocket grenade, VOA posted a photo of an engine fragment from an intercepted Houthi missile launched at Israel. The fragment appeared to have Korean writing on it.
South Korean officials told the Associated Press (AP) in October that North Korean weapons were used in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, including F-7 RPGs. The F-7 is a copy of a venerable Soviet design that has been modified to inflict more damage against human targets, while the Soviet original was intended for use against armored vehicles.
The NIS said on Tuesday it is “collecting and accumulating specific evidence regarding the scale and timing of North Korea’s supply of weapons to Hamas and others,” but could not make some of its evidence public due to “source protection and diplomatic relations.”
VOA reported that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been “retrieving North Korean weapons in Gaza and Israel” ever since the October 7 atrocities.
Lt. Col. Idan Sharon-Kettler, deputy commander of the IDF unit that collects enemy equipment, told VOA in December that “tens of thousands of North Korean weapons were recovered.” According to Sharon-Kettler, Hamas modified some of its North Korean RPGs to turn them back into anti-vehicle weapons.
The South Korean military said it is concerned that North Korea might pick up tactical advice from Hamas and use it to plan surprise attacks against South Korea, similar to the Hamas atrocities of October 7.
North Korea has dismissed allegations that it supplies Hamas and other malevolent actors with weapons as “groundless” and “false rumors.” North Korean state media accused the U.S. government of fabricating those allegations to distract from its own support for Israel.
A group of family members of Hamas victims announced last week they plan to sue the North Korean government for supplying the Palestinian terrorists with weapons.
