FPI / October 20, 2023
Geostrategy-Direct
Hamas reportedly used North Korean weapons and tactics in its surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 in which the terror organization slaughtered hundreds of Israeli civilians.
A video shared on social media showed a Hamas terrorist holding what appeared to be a North Korean F-7 rocket propelled grenade launcher or RPG.
In the attack, Hamas used paragliders and drones, a tactic that has been employed by North Korea.
“In 2020, North Korea practiced an attack on a replica of the Blue House, South Korea’s former presidential office and residence. Commandos rode paragliders to a landing point near the replica and staged an assault,” Radio Free Asia reported on Oct. 17.
A South Korean military official confirmed that the F-7 is another name for the North Korean RPG-7 high-explosive fragmentation rocket, but did not elaborate on whether the weapon reached Hamas in direct trade with North Korea or via a third party.
The official said that spent 122-millimeter artillery shells discovered near Gaza’s border with Israel are likely North Korean exports, because they were marked in Korean letters “Bang-122,” and shells with this marking have been used in North Korean artillery attacks of the South.
“Hamas is believed to be directly or indirectly linked to North Korea in various areas, such as the weapons trade, tactical guidance and training,” a senior member of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, who did not want to be named, told reporters at a special press briefing in Seoul.
The official further suggested that North Korea could use similar tactics to Hamas in an attack on the South.
“There is a possibility that North Korea could use Hamas' attack methods [in the event of] a surprise invasion of South Korea," the official said.
North Korean state media denied that Hamas was using North Korean weapons, calling the idea a ”groundless and false rumor” spread by “reptile press bodies and quasi-experts” in the United States.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) noted in a report on May 11 that “ballistic missile technology cooperation” between Teheran and Pyongyang “is significant and meaningful.”
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