Let us not forget about North Korea

Israel has a lot of ‘friends’ in the region. From deceased bunker dwellers in Gaza and Beirut, to Houthis in Yemen who curse Jews not once, but twice. In Iraq, where there seems to be no difference between Sunni or Shia leadership. The former told my grandparents in the least polite way to leave and go to Israel in the 1950s and now Shia militias in the same country seem to be incensed that they and their progeny decided to remain there. And, of course, the theocratic ‘republic’ of Iran and its many militias. But that is not all, as a relatively small country in East Asia has been vehemently anti-Israel, since the 1950s: North Korea. Indeed, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) – it is funny how dictatorships always try to claim that the people support them wholeheartedly – has always been anti-Israel, and this has not changed since October 7, 2023. Why is this so?

Hatred of Israel

North Korea has never minced words when it comes to Israel. When observing the comments made by the state as well as its media, it becomes rather clear. In his book Guns, Guerrillas and the Great Leader, Benjamin R. Young devoted some time to analyzing North Korea’s stance towards Israel within its foreign policy outlook. From the beginning the North Korean regime felt that Palestinian factions were kindred spirits. As they saw it, both they and the PLO were liberation movements fighting against a common imperialist enemy: the United States. For example, in a 1985 North Korean magazine article, Israel was called a ‘cancer’ for peace in the Middle East. Moreover, North Korean rhetoric about Israel was always vicious. As Young describes, Israeli soldiers were usually depicted in a way that was reminiscent of Nazi propaganda about Jews during the Second World War – is it not nice how far-left and far-right extremists always seem to find common ground when it comes to Jews? A recent example on a pro-DPRK social media account shows that this kind of image persists. When a Jordanian man killed three Israelis at a border crossing, a cartoon was posted celebrating the attack. In it you find masses of cute, fuzzy, smiling cats wearing keffiyehs approaching the border in trucks, while shooting Israeli soldiers – the three men killed in the attack were not soldiers – who are ugly, gray rats in uniform. It reminds one of the Nazi media, which frequently compared Jews to hordes of rats.

Yet, North Korean hostility historically has gone further than rhetoric. Its foreign policy was based on forging alliances that supported, as Young describes, the twin goals of furthering Korea-First nationalism and potential re-unification. The obstacle to these goals was the “imperialist aggression” of the United States, as the DPRK saw it, which used said “aggression” through its puppets, which were South Korea in Asia and Israel in the Middle East. Naturally, the DPRK sought support for its regime among revolutionary regimes in the world.

Support for Israel’s enemies

North Korea’s fierce pro-Palestinian stance definitely brought it much prestige in the Middle East. Its ties with Palestinian groups, such as Fatah and Abu Nidal went back to the early 1960s. In addition, support meant providing Israel’s enemies with training and arms but direct involvement was possible, too. In the Six Day War, North Koreans fought alongside their Syrian allies and in the Yom Kippur War, a North Korean military aircraft squadron fought alongside Egypt. Support for terror attacks was not denied either. The DPRK maintained contact with Muhammad Da’ud Awda, one of the architects of the 1972 Munich massacre. In addition, Young argues that there is strong evidence indicating that North Korea planned and provided support for the 1972 Lod Airport massacre that killed 26 people, carried out by the Japanese Red Army Faction. And in the 1980s, North Korea would engage in terror attacks itself. The targets were South Koreans, when in 1983 North Korean agents tried to kill South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan in Rangoon. He survived, but the blast killed four Burmese and seventeen South Koreans. And in 1989, North Korean agents placed a bomb aboard Korean Air flight 858, killing all 115 passengers. While overwhelming evidence showed DPRK’s responsibility for the attacks, the official response was denial. Concerning the latter, North Korea even accused the South Koreans of blowing up their own people, so they could slander the former. This modus operandi is eerily similar to the way Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas tend to respond to Israeli accusations: standard denial and peddling of conspiracy theories – no wonder North Korea maintains good relations with all of them. Moreover, the terminology used by all is similar as well. Hamas always speaks of ‘Zionist aggression’, as does Iran. North Korea, for its part, coincidentally also speaks of ‘Zionist/Israeli aggression’ and, most importantly, about ‘American imperialist aggression’. And, of course, all of the brutally violent attacks conducted by them are never considered acts of ‘aggression’, rather they are framed as ‘resistance’.

Saying one thing…

After October 7^th, North Korea has repeatedly expressed its support for Hamas and denounced Israel, as well as the US for supporting it. In addition, it has received support from Nodutdol, a Korean organization based in New York. Calling themselves a grassroots organization dedicated to bringing Koreans together and calling for an end to the Korean War, this group strives for Korean re-unification. Its statements, however, clearly demonstrate a pro-DPRK bias. For instance, it opposed the free trade agreement between the US and South Korea, calls for the eradication of the state of Israel, and has organized tours to visit the DPRK – historically, these visits have been highly choreographed, so it shows that the state considers Nodutdol a friend. Not surprisingly, many of their talking points are copied from decades of DPRK propaganda. Representatives from the organization have attended anti-Israel rallies in the US as well.

One gathering in Detroit was particularly amusing, as Nodutdol’s representative joined an all-star team of Israel’s biggest ‘friends’ – anti-Israel politicians, writers, activists, and a rabidly anti-Israel Jew – and proudly stated that North Korea had never recognized, in his words, the ‘Zionist tumor that goes by the name of Israel’. It is true, the good man tapped into decades of North Korean vitriol that used the same kind of terminology and Israel is not recognized by the DPRK, but either he knows very little about his beloved communist paradise or he is simply practicing the art of omission. As Young shows in his book, the DPRK’s foreign policy was always infused with a dose of pragmatism. He quotes an Egyptian delegation that spoke with Kim Il Sung – the founder of the dynasty that currently runs North Korea – in 1978, mentioning that Kim was hoping for a peaceful settlement between Israel and Egypt. Kim even said that he was hoping that it would lead to peace in the Middle East entirely, though he could not say it publicly, as he was allied with quite a few Arab countries that detested the Jewish state. And in the early 1990s, Israeli delegations visited North Korea upon invitation from the regime, to explore the possibility of forging diplomatic ties between the two countries. It was short-lived, but the fact is that these examples illustrate that North Korean interests and the Kim family’s interests trump everything. Another fun fact is that all three generations of Kims love the high life. For example, Kim Il Sung was close friends with Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, a man representing an old feudal order. But that did not matter to Kim, who loved luxury according to Sihanouk and had built massive and lavish palaces for himself. His son, Kim Jong Il, was known to love luxury items as well – how communist, indeed. At the end of the day, two things matter most to the DPRK: regime survival and isolating South Korea. In a way, it shows why the youngest Kim is supportive of Hamas, as the latter strives to isolate Israel in the same way – regardless of the fact that quite a number of Israeli politicians seem willing to aid Hamas in its endeavor, by making the most outrageous statements.

Should Israel have forged ties with North Korea?

As Kim is now actively supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine with North Korean boots on the ground, one can wonder if it would have been different had Israel forged ties with North Korea in the early 1990s. Perhaps the DPRK would not have become an honorary member of Iran’s anti-Israel coalition. Maybe North Korea would have become an ally of the West or, at least, neutral in the current wars. Several Israeli diplomats considered the prospect promising back then and blamed the Mossad for eventually torpedoing the talks. However, I find it hard to believe that it would have led to anything meaningful. Of course, vital information when analyzing North Korea is missing, as its state archives remain sealed to foreign researchers. But based on what scholars like Young have managed to discover using available primary sources, it seems unlikely that North Korea would have dropped its long-standing allies in favor of Israel. The North Korean connection with Palestinian factions goes back to the early 1960s, as they received armaments, training, and diplomatic support from them. After the Iranian Revolution, the DPRK immediately cozied up to Khomeini, as both shared a hatred of the United States. It has given support to terrorists who launched attacks on Israelis and from the 1980s has itself engaged in terror attacks against South Korea. And in the twenty-first century, the Syrian reactor that was destroyed by Israel was a North Korean replica and by now it is clear that Hamas was using weaponry manufactured in the DPRK on October 7^th. I find it hard to believe that the DPRK would have given up these ties for Israel.

In short, I believe that Israel is better off. Strengthening ties with South Korea is much more beneficial and offers advantages to both countries. South Korea is a fellow democracy – a very vibrant one, as recent events have shown – has a strong economy, and by now has considerable soft power, too. Moreover, the DPRK’s dream of re-unification means that South Korean democracy will be replaced with the repressive Kim regime. It is no wonder that it supports Hamas, as it too wishes to destroy another country. Because of this, it is futile to dwell on what might have been. North Korea remains a firm ally of a broad anti-Western coalition. As Kim is sending his troops to Russia, cozies up to Hamas, and threatens East Asia on a regular basis, it is quite clear that the North Korean kleptocracy is a friend you do not need.