- North Korea's decades-old military alliance with Syria is worrying Washington, experts say
- For years, it's believed the Asian state has supplied Damascus with equipment for the latter's missile program
- Two North Korean shipments to a Syrian state agency overseeing a chemical weapons program were intercepted this year
The longstanding bilateral relationship, which stretches back to the late 1960s, has prospered this year even as both countries face international sanctions. Syrian minister of social affairs and labor Rima al-Qadiri met with North Korean ambassador Jang Myong Ho last week to discuss enhancing bilateral links, Syrian state media reported, with Jang saying his country wanted to help President Bashar al-Assad's regime with reconstruction efforts.
President Donald Trump's administration is increasingly worried "that [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un is not only profiting from Syria's six-year war, but also learning from it," Jay Solomon, a visiting fellow at American think tank The Washington Institute, wrote in a recent note.
North Korean exports of military equipment to the Arab nation, including propellants for Syria's Scud ballistic missiles, protective chemical suits and respirators, are believed to have occurred for years. And with state revenue increasingly strained under fresh sanctions, Pyongyang is widely expected to continue such sales.
Allegations have also surfaced that North Korean military advisers are inside Syria — a charge that both countries have denied. The secretive Asian state is also widely believed to have helped develop a Syrian nuclear facility, which was destroyed in a 2007 Israeli airstrike.
At least two North Korean shipments to a Syrian government agency responsible for the nation's chemical weapons program were intercepted this year, Reuters reported in August, citing a confidential United Nations report. "Previous shipments from North Korea are not known to have contained chemicals or chemical weapons production equipment," Rod Barton, former director of strategic technology at Australia's Defense Intelligence Organisation, wrote in an August note published by the Lowy Institute.
Kim is believed to possess a vast chemical arsenal, including the deadly VX nerve agent that was reportedly used to assassinate his half-brother Kim Jong Nam this February. "Given Syria's unholy alliance with North Korea, perhaps Pyongyang could even be adding to Syria's chemical capabilities," Barton added.
The White House has been ramping up economic pressure on Kim's government, often hinting of military threats in the process, to halt the latter's nuclear weapons program. Meanwhile in Syria, the U.S. has led an international coalition to target extremist groups since late 2014 but Trump has said his administration had "very little to do with Syria" beyond defeating Islamic State.
Reference: CNBC
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/
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