Amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, a Hamas official indicated that North Korea could consider an attack on the U.S. as part of an alliance with Hamas.
What Happened: Ali Baraka, a senior Hamas official, acclaimed Kim Jong Un as potentially the only leader capable of initiating an assault against the U.S., reported Radio Free Asia, a United States-funded non-profit news service.
"The leader of North Korea is, perhaps, the only one in the world capable of striking the United States. He is the only one," Baraka said.
"The day may come when North Korea intervenes because it is, after all, part of [our] alliance," he added..
Baraka made these comments last week during an interview with a Lebanese YouTube channel and later reported by the Middle East Research Institute.
Baraka suggested that a coalition of countries opposing the U.S., including North Korea, could unite in solidarity with Gaza. He implied that such an alliance could lead to a scenario where the U.S. might collapse as the Soviet Union did in 1991. He also mentioned ongoing communications between Russia and Hamas, with a Hamas delegation expected to visit Beijing soon after a recent Moscow trip.
"All of America’s enemies in the region are consulting and getting closer, and the day may come when they join the war together, and turn America into a thing of the past."
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“Iran does not have weapons that can reach America, but it can strike Israel and the American bases and ships in the region, if the U.S. clearly expands its intervention," he said.
While North Korea has publicly declared its support for Hamas, US-based experts have dismissed the likelihood of a North Korean attack on the U.S. in solidarity with Hamas.
Michael O’Hanlon from The Brookings Institution and David Maxwell from the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy both echoed views of improbability. Meanwhile, Patrick M. Cronin from the Hudson Institute warned of the threat posed by North Korea’s possible cooperation with Hamas.
"I don't take these comments very seriously because Kim Jong-Un is not going to risk his own neck to help Hamas," said Maxwell.
Nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker revealed that North Korea is reorienting its diplomatic posture due to mounting international sanctions. He said Pyongyang has reportedly ceased its pursuit of establishing formal diplomatic ties with the U.S., shifting focus toward allies China and Russia. Hecker, the former Los Alamos National Laboratory director and Stanford University professor emeritus, has visited North Korean nuclear sites multiple times between 2004 and 2010.
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