SEOUL: Hamas fighters likely fired North Korean weapons during their October 7 assault on Israel, a militant video and weapons seized by Israel show, despite Pyongyang’s denials that it arms the militant group.
South Korean officials, two experts on North Korean arms and an analysis of weapons captured on the battlefield by Israel point toward Hamas using Pyongyang’s F-7 rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-fired weapon that fighters typically use against armored vehicles.
The evidence shines a light on the murky world of the illicit arms shipments that sanction-battered North Korea uses as a way to fund its own conventional and nuclear weapons programmes.
Rocket-propelled grenade launchers fire a single warhead and can be quickly reloaded, making them valuable weapons for guerrilla forces in running skirmishes with heavy vehicles.
The F-7 has been documented in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, said NR Jenzen-Jones, a weapons expert who works as the director of the consultancy Armament Research Services.
“North Korea has long supported Palestinian militant groups, and North Korean arms have previously been documented among interdicted supplies,” Jenzen-Jones said.
Hamas has published images of their fighters with a launcher with a rocket-propelled grenade with a distinctive red stripe across its warhead, and other design elements matching the F-7, said Matt Schroeder, a senior researcher with Small Arms Survey who wrote a guide to Pyongyang’s light weapons.
“It is not a surprise to see North Korean weapons with Hamas,” Schroeder said.
The North Korean F-7 resembles the more widely distributed Soviet-era RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade, with a few noticeable differences.
Jenzen-Jones described the F-7 rocket-propelled grenade as “intended to offer a lethal effect against personnel” given its shape and payload, rather than armoured vehicles.
Weapons seized by the Israeli military and shown to journalists also included that red stripe and other design elements matching the F-7.
Meanwhile, Pyongyang last week through its state-run news agency dismissed claims that Hamas used its weapons as “a groundless and false rumour” orchestrated by the US.
Hamas propaganda videos and photos previously have shown its fighters with North Korea’s Bulsae guided anti-tank missile. “Many North Korean arms have been provided by Iran to militant groups,” Jenzen-Jones said.