TEL AVIV — North Korea was said to have become the latest military supplier to Hamas.

ShareThis

"We saw this kind of cooperation only two or maybe three months ago with the North Korean plane in Bangkok with huge numbers of different weapons with the intention to smuggle these weapons to Hamas and Hizbullah," Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on May 12.

Lieberman did not identify the North Korean weapons destined for Hamas and Hizbullah, Middle East Newsline reported. But officials said Pyongyang has been sending anti-tank missiles, surface-to-surface rockets and shoulder-fired air defense systems.

In December 2009, Thailand seized a North Korean plane when it arrived in Bangkok. The aircraft was said to have contained 35 tons of weapons, including explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and components for surface-to-air missiles.

Israel has accused North Korea of also providing Hamas and Hizbullah with equipment and techniques to rapidly construct tunnels. Officials said the tunnels played a major role in Hizbullah's war with Israel in southern Lebanon in 2009.

---