"Hamas Resembles North Korea in Paragliding Training to Infiltrate Cheongwadae"

Hamas Breaches Israel's Fence, Similar to DMZ
2016 North Korea Paragliding Combat Training Revealed

There is an analysis that the paragliding infiltration during the surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian armed faction Hamas is similar to North Korea's tactics. This has led to speculation that there may have been covert military exchanges, including arms deals and tactical transfers, between North Korea and Hamas.

Professor Park Won-gon of Ewha Womans University’s Department of North Korean Studies analyzed, "While direct support has not yet been confirmed, it is possible that North Korea transferred weapon systems or tactics."

On the 18th, Professor Park said on YTN, "It is true that since the 1970s, North Korea has maintained very close military relations with key countries in the Middle East such as Egypt and Syria, and advisory groups were dispatched for military exchanges, with many North Korean weapons provided. Since cooperation from that time has been discussed continuously until recently, it is possible that weapon systems or tactics were transferred."

Combat training of the Special Operations Battalion directly under the 525th Army Unit of the Korean People's Army, targeting the Blue House, released by the Korean Central News Agency on December 11, 2016. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 7th, Hamas militants used paragliders to cross the smart fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip and launched a surprise attack. This is similar to the infiltration and strike training using paragliders that North Korea revealed in July 2016. At that time, the North Korean People's Army Special Operations Battalion conducted a simulated strike training on the Blue House using paragliding or parachutes, with Chairman Kim Jong-un in attendance.

Professor Park explained, "South Korea has also established a scientific system on the fences near the DMZ, the demilitarized zone with North Korea, and South Korea benchmarked a lot from Israel’s system. The current smart fence near the Gaza Strip by Israel is a similar form."

He continued, "There is a possibility that North Korea transferred the tactics, or it could be that both North Korea and Hamas are similar in being offensive. South Korea has no possibility of attacking North Korea first, but North Korea always thinks about invading the South, and Hamas also thinks about attacking Israeli territory. Since North Korea revealed this method in 2016, Hamas may have benchmarked it," he explained.

The timing of the surprise attack is also similar to North Korea’s. The 7th, when Hamas deployed militants, was the Jewish Sabbath and the day after the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. The Korean War also began when North Korean communist forces crossed the 38th parallel and invaded the South in the early morning of June 25, 1950.

There is also a possibility that North Korea may use Hamas-style tactics for attacks against the South in the future. On the 17th, the Joint Chiefs of Staff stated at a press briefing that Hamas is directly and indirectly linked with North Korea in various fields such as arms trade, tactical doctrines, and training, and that North Korea may use Hamas’s attack methods for surprise attacks against the South. It was also reported that North Korean-made rocket shells, presumed to be used by Hamas-affiliated armed groups, were found near the Israeli border area.

Professor Park said, "If North Korea conducts a surprise invasion similar to Hamas’s method, it is likely to first utilize the approximately 340 long-range artillery pieces deployed forward that they possess," adding, "If war breaks out, it will be conducted very simultaneously, including conventional and nuclear warfare, and special operations forces will be sent to the South to turn the entire South Korea into a battlefield. This kind of pattern was also confirmed a lot in Hamas’s attack on Israel this time."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.