South Korea's intelligence showed North Korean weapons used by Hamas militants – photo
South Korea's National Intelligence Service has confirmed suspicions that North Korean-made weapons are being used by Hamas in its war against Israel, despite North Korea's repeated denials of arms deals, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
Earlier, the South Korean branch of the Voice of America published a report that included a photo of a rocket launcher for the F-7 grenade launcher, likely used by Hamas fighters, with a combination of Korean characters and numbers.
By releasing a new photo of the munition, South Korea's National Intelligence Service corroborated the Voice of America's information, Yonhap noted.
"The detonator with Korean characters is located in the middle part of the North Korean-manufactured F-7 missile," Yonhap reported, providing a photo of the disassembled F-7 launcher.
The Korean characters are not visible in the National Intelligence Service's photo because they are engraved inside the detonator, Yonhap explained.
Korean characters are engraved inside the component circled in blue in the photo, the publication explained. Judging from the photo, this is the bottom part of the detonator.
The intelligence agency also stated that it is "collecting and accumulating" detailed evidence of possible North Korean arms supplies to Hamas, such as the volume and trade timeline of the weapons.
"However, it is currently difficult to provide such evidence due to the need to protect sources of information and the consideration of diplomatic relations," the intelligence agency said.
Earlier, South Korea's armed forces said North Korea appeared to be linked to Hamas in the arms trade and other military fields, suggesting it could use military tactics for a sudden attack on South Korea similar to those used by militants against Israel.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service also revealed during a parliamentary committee meeting in November that it had received information suggesting that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un had ordered officials to develop measures to provide comprehensive aid to Palestine.
According to a military official in South Korea, the F-7 is a type of high-explosive fragmentation rocket, which appears to be another name for the RPG-7 and is manufactured in North Korea.
North Korea, in turn, rejected the notion that Hamas has used its weapons to attack Israel, calling it "groundless" and accusing the United States of making false accusations against it.
Regarding the possible arms trade between North Korea and Russia, the intelligence agency said it was "consistently" monitoring the issue in close cooperation with the United States and urged Pyongyang to "immediately" cease such operations.
"North Korea's trade in weapons with Russia, such as ballistic missiles and artillery shells, violates UN Security Council resolutions and poses a serious threat to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula," the agency said.
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