South Korea's military said Tuesday that North Korea appears to have links with the Palestinian militant group Hamas through arms trade, based on an analysis of Hamas' attacks on Israel.

An official from the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters that a type of high-explosive fragmentation rocket used in the Oct. 7 attacks appeared to have been produced in North Korea.

But the official did not specify whether the rockets were provided directly by North Korea or through transactions involving other nations.

The JCS also speculated that artillery shells found near the Israeli border after the attacks were exported from North Korea, according to the official.

North Korea has denied its weapons were used by Hamas against Israel, with its official Korean Central News Agency on Friday accusing the U.S. media of spreading "a groundless and false rumor" about the weapons.

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