North Korea has been very active militarily in the Middle East over the decades, from sending pilots to assist Egypt and Syria in the October 1973 war to cooperating with Damascus on a nuclear reactor in the new millennium.
Pyongyang has sold missiles of different ranges as well as light ammunition to Middle Eastern states, and has even sold to terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Pyongyang’s
technological advancement has allowed it to develop submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and missiles that can carry nuclear bombs.
Its military exports to the Middle East and North Africa, as well as its development of its own conventional and nuclear weapons programs, has continued despite efforts by the international community to halt such efforts.
The North Korean issue should accordingly raise concerns in Asia, the US, and Israel. Kim Jung-un, the leader of North Korea, is challenging the world even more than did his father, Kim Jung-il.
He is conducting nuclear tests and testing middle- and long-range missiles, including SLBMs, in the hope that Beijing or even Moscow will step in to prevent any serious aggravation of international sanctions, especially in the UN Security Council.
Still, the existing sanctions, and the difficulties faced by the North Korean economy, increase Pyongyang's need for foreign income, making the Middle East an important trading partner.
North Korea's 30 I North Korea and the Middle East interest in expanding its military exports to the region, mainly to Iran and Syria, will likely increase in order to generate more income. Israel might be able to intercept some North Korean military shipments to Syria or Hezbollah, but it will not be able to halt the majority of Pyongyang’s conventional and nuclear exports to the Middle East without the assistance of the US and its allies.
That is why Israel should continue to work on convincing the US, Europe, and its Asian allies that North Korea is a rogue state that threatens the stability not only of Northeast Asia, but of the Middle East through its conventional and nuclear power.
https://besacenter.org/mideast-security-and-policy-studies/127-levkowitz-north-korea-and-the-middle-east/
www.fotavgeia.blogspot.com
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