MEF

Assad's North Korean Connection

By Jonathan Spyer
The Jerusalem Post
November 1, 2013

http://www.meforum.org/3658/assad-north-korea

 Assad's North Korean Connection

Reports have emerged this week indicating the presence of North Korean military personnel in Syria. They note that 15 North Korean helicopter pilots are operating on behalf of the Assad regime within the country.

The reports have been validated by the pro-rebel but usually reliable Syrian Observatory for Human Rights . They are also not the first evidence that Pyongyang is actively involved on the ground in the Assad regime's war effort.

Earlier this year, the Saudi-based regional newspaper Sharq al-Awsat carried eyewitness reports revealing the presence of North Korean officers among the Syrian regime's ground forces in the city of Aleppo. On this occasion, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was itself the source of the report.