The U.S. think tank, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), has repeatedly suggested that North Korea may have supplied (sold) weapons to the Palestinian armed group Hamas, currently at war with Israel.
The main motive is likely to raise funds (money), while it is plausible that the North seeks to weaken the U.S.’s foothold in the Middle East.
According to CSIS on the 28th (local time), CSIS Senior Researcher Ellen Kim made this claim in a report on the North Korea-Hamas relationship posted on the CSIS website the day before (27th).
Senior Researcher Kim said, “North Korea has a long history with Hamas. Their relationship dates back to the 1960s when North Korea first started providing financial resources and training to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Although the relationship between North Korea and Palestine weakened after the Cold War, it recovered in 2007 after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip.”
Senior Researcher Kim speculated that North Korea had supported Palestine for several years and that the main reason for this support was money. She said, “North Korea, which is under strong international sanctions, has been conducting various illegal activities to raise funds to develop and manufacture its weapons, including selling weapons to Hamas, Iran, and other Islamic armed groups.”
It is suggested that North Korea has become bolder with the emergence of the anti-U.S. block, consisting of Russia, China, and Iran.
Senior Researcher Kim stated, “After Russia invaded Ukraine, North Korea expanded its cooperation with Russia, complicating U.S. efforts in Ukraine while seeking strategic gains by obtaining what it needed from Russia. Similarly, North Korea can seek opportunities to benefit from this war while damaging U.S. interests in the Middle East.”
She pointed out that the military cooperation between North Korea and Hamas is a “concern for U.S. national security and a global problem for nonproliferation. Along with other illegal activities, weapon sales will help Kim Jong Un raise the funds needed to expand North Korea’s missile, space, cyber, and nuclear weapons programs.”
Senior Researcher Kim pointed out that one immediate measure that the U.S. and South Korea could take is to support the condemnation of North Korea’s role in the Gaza war (Israel-Hamas) and the Russia-Ukraine war at the G7 summit scheduled to be held in June.
On the 26th, the U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS) also stated in a U.S.-North Korea Relations report that “Kim Jong Un’s range of motion can be seen as increased, following increased support from China and Russia.”
The report also noted, “North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests appear to be efforts to enhance its ability to strike the U.S. While ballistic missile tests are generally seen as efforts to neutralize the regional missile defense network, it is seen as efforts to improve the ability to attack U.S. allies and their assets.”