South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) released a new image on Monday of a component of a North Korean-made grenade launcher allegedly used by Hamas in its ongoing war against Israel.
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According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, the NIS's announcement corroborates a Voice of America (VOA) report released last Friday. The VOA report featured a photo of a fuse purportedly belonging to a North Korean-made F-7 rocket-propelled grenade launcher allegedly used by Hamas and bearing Korean writing. The NIS said that its evaluation aligns with the findings presented in the VOA report.
The NIS reported they are "collecting and storing" data on North Korea's arms transfers to Hamas, detailing weapon quantities and transaction timings. Yet, revealing this information is currently difficult due to the need to protect intelligence sources and consider diplomatic ties, as stated by the intelligence agency.
South Korea's military has previously acknowledged the North's connections to Hamas and cautioned that North Korea might employ tactics similar to those used by Hamas against Israel, including surprise attacks on South Korea through tunnels.
In a November briefing, South Korea's intelligence agency reported to the parliamentary intelligence committee in Seoul that it had acquired intelligence suggesting that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had instructed senior officials to provide comprehensive assistance to Palestinians.
North Korea has denied providing Hamas with weapons, dismissing such claims as "baseless" and accused the United States of fabricating false accusations against it.