on north korea and syria relations

North Korea and Syria first established diplomatic relations in 1966 and have had a history of cooperative relations for over five decades. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44348331)  The two nations share a few key traits. Both states are family-run authoritarian regimes. Both have had to contend with a large and powerful common adversary, the United States, having been labeled by the international community as rogue states. Both are two of the only four nations with known chemical weapons stockpiles, the other two being the US and Russia. Moreover, Syria is the only nation in the world that maintains official diplomatic relations with North Korea and does not officially recognize South Korea. (https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-09-08/syria-s-other-key-ally-north-korea#1)

Over time, North Korea has on occasion sent advisors, materials, and shared technology with Damascus, including support during the Yom Kippur War against Israel in 1973. There are also indications that North Korea and Syria cooperated in the development of nuclear programs, apparent in the early 2000s. In April 2007, Israel destroyed a Syrian facility containing an undeclared nuclear reactor, an operation which reportedly killed ten North Korean technicians. The facility was similar in design to a North Korean plutonium reactor in Yongbyon, capable of making fuel for nuclear weapons. (https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-09-08/syria-s-other-key-ally-north-korea#1)

Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, North Korea has proven to be a staunch ally, providing both military and technical support to Syria. A UN report released in February 2018 found that from 2012-2017, North Korea had sent at least 40 undeclared shipments of materials that could potentially be used to make chemical weapons to Syria, including valves, pipes, and acid-resistant tiles, as well as supplied ballistic missiles and artillery rockets. (https://thediplomat.com/2018/02/north-koreas-syrian-connection/) (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-43219614) In April 2013, Turkey seized a shipment enroute from North Korea to Syria containing ammunition, gas masks, and arms. (https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-09-08/syria-s-other-key-ally-north-korea#1) Another shipment from the Korean Mining Development Trading Corporation (KOMID), which oversees North Korea's arms exports, was seized in August 2017. There have also been reports of the presence of small-scale presence of North Korean combat troops in Syria, possibly dating back to as early as the 1960s. The collaboration is mutually beneficial, as in exchange for expertise, North Korea gains combat experience abroad. Syria is not the only North Korean partner in this regard; North Korea had also sent military support to Angola's MPLA government in the 1980s, to Zimbabwe in support of Robert Mugabe from 1983-1987 during a crackdown on resistance, as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo to in support of Joseph Kabila. North Korea is also an ally to Iran and Hezbollah as a supplier of rockets and missiles since the 1980s as well as a provider of military support during the Iran-Iraq War from 1980-1988 as well as the 2006 Israel-Lebanon War. (https://thediplomat.com/2018/02/north-koreas-syrian-connection/)

references

"Syria's President Assad to visit North Korea," BBC News, June 3, 2018. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44348331)

Cain, Geoffrey. "Syria's other key ally: North Korea," GlobalPost, September 8, 2013. (https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-09-08/syria-s-other-key-ally-north-korea#1)

Ramani, Samuel. "North Korea's Syrian connection," The Diplomat, February 27, 2018. (https://thediplomat.com/2018/02/north-koreas-syrian-connection/)

"North Korea providing materials for Syria chemical weapons," BBC News, February 28, 2018. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-43219614)