A number of top South Korean officials have drawn comparisons between Hamas’ recent surprise attacks on Israel and the threat posed by North Korea, raising concerns that the DPRK is “directly or indirectly” linked to the Palestinian military group and could adopt its tactics to carry out “a surprise invasion of South Korea.”

One military expert told NK News that Pyongyang will have taken note of how Hamas exploited vulnerabilities in Israel’s defenses and used a rocket barrage to overwhelm its missile interceptors.