North Korea categorically denied the allegations on Friday, asserting that its weapons were not used by Hamas in the attack on Israel. They contended that certain media reports making such claims were, in essence, an effort by Washington to deflect blame for the conflict away from itself and onto a third party.
In contrast, Radio Free Asia, citing military experts, suggested that Hamas might be utilizing North Korean weaponry. They pointed to footage of Palestinian fighters showing a rocket launcher suspected to originate from North Korea. Similarly, the US government-owned Voice of America referenced an intelligence expert indicating that some of Hamas’s weapons might indeed have North Korean origins.
North Korea official KCNA news agency accused the US administration, its press, and supposed experts of disseminating baseless and false rumors regarding “North Korea’s weapons” in the attack on Israel. They framed this as an attempt to shift the blame for the Middle East crisis away from the US’s hegemonic policy and onto a third country, effectively evading international criticism aimed at the US.
John Kirby
Adding to the complexity, John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, mentioned on Thursday that he couldn’t confirm the reports concerning the source of the rockets used by Hamas. He also emphasized that the Israel-Hamas crisis would not affect the United States’ security strategy in other parts of the world, including the Korean peninsula.
Moreover, earlier in the week, North Korea’s state media accused Israel of causing bloodshed in Gaza, aligning with their consistent habit of blaming the United States for escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula. Consequently, North Korea’s KCNA underscored that the Israeli conflict had become yet another “significant strategic burden” for Washington, an additional challenge alongside the Ukrainian crisis. Their statements suggested that this situation underscored the limitations of the US’s strategy for global hegemony and its ambition to become the sole global superpower.
The recent Israel-Palestinian conflict began over the weekend with a surprise attack by Hamas, which marked the deadliest assault by Palestinian militants in Israeli history.
