North Korea has dismissed hypothesis that the Hamas militant group used North Korean munitions in its shock assault on Israel as “groundless,” accusing america of fabricating a false accusation towards Pyongyang.
“The U.S. administration’s mouthpieces and pseudo-experts are spreading baseless, homegrown myths that ‘North Korean-made weapons’ had been used within the assault on Israel,” mentioned Ri Kwang-song, an analyst on worldwide affairs, in an an article carried by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central Information Company on Oct. 13.
“What can’t be ignored is that the U.S. is as soon as once more sticking to its malicious slander marketing campaign towards us in a bid to attach us to the most recent battle within the Center East.”
KCNA’s article got here after Radio Free Asia reported earlier on the suspected use of North Korean weapons by Hamas fighters, citing a video shared by the X account Warfare Noir.
The clip exhibits one of many fighters brandishing an F-7 high-explosive fragmentation rocket made within the North, which was beforehand exported to the Center East.
It was not instantly clear whether or not North Korea provided the armaments on to Hamas or whether or not they had been obtained by transactions involving different nations, however consultants mentioned Palestinians have traditionally utilized North Korean armaments, which can have been bought by Iran or Syria earlier than being smuggled into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Cited by RFA, Bruce E. Bechtol Jr., a former intelligence officer for the U.S. Protection Intelligence Company, mentioned the Syrians take care of Hezbollah rather a lot and Hezbollah offers with Hamas rather a lot.
“Numerous the commerce that North Korea does with each Hamas and Hezbollah is offers that they make by the IRGC, the Iranian Republican Guard Corps,” he added.
Earlier this week, North Korea criticized Israel for the escalating battle with Hamas, claiming that it’s the “consequence of Israel’s ceaseless felony actions” towards the Palestinian individuals.
Hamas launched rocket assaults towards Israel throughout a significant Jewish vacation on Saturday, and Israel responded with retaliatory strikes, ensuing within the deaths or accidents of hundreds of individuals on either side.
Edited by Elaine Chan