North Korea built a nuclear reactor in Syria based on the design of its own reactor at
Yongbyon, and North Korean officials traveled regularly to the site. The Syrian reactor
was destroyed by Israel in an airstrike in 2007.[3] The United States signed the
Iran, North Korea, Syria Nonproliferation Act in 2000.
In 2012, North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un expressed support for the Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad in face of a growing civil war.[4] In September 2015, the Syrian government paid tribute to
Kim Il Sung in a ceremony for a new park in Damascus named in his honor.[5] In 2016, there were reports that North Korean Special Forces were fighting to defend the Syrian government in the
Syrian Civil War.[1] North Korea also expressed interest in helping Syria in post-war reconstruction.[6][7] In 2018, Bashar al-Assad said that he will visit North Korea to meet with
Kim Jong Un.[8] A
United Nations report released in 2018 alleged that North Korea was helping Syria in developing chemical weapons.[9][10][11]