The US-North Korea Summit: Implications for Israel
As far as the Israeli intelligence agencies are concerned, the historic summit between Trump and Kim is interesting primarily because of the impact on the Iranian nuclear program. Meanwhile, the European market has reawakened and now shows a lot of interest in the Israeli industries. Amir Rapaport's weekly column
Amir Rapaport
| 15/06/2018
President Trump at the Singapore summit (Photo: AP)
For many Israelis, North Korea is located so far away (nearly 9,000 km away, to be precise), as to pose no tangible threat to Israeli national security.
However, as far as the Israeli intelligence agencies are concerned, the outlook is radically different: admittedly, North Korea does not constitute a direct threat to Israel, but its long-range missile development projects and nuclear projects are closely associated with the build-up efforts of Iran and Hezbollah (to the extent of economic cooperation and cooperation in development processes and tests). Additionally, the nuclear reactor Israel attacked in Syria in September 2007 had originated in North Korea.
Under these circumstances, it is safe to assume that over the years, Israel has had a special interest in knowing what takes place at the missile and nuclear installations in North Korea. If North Korea should actually disarm and call off its nuclear program, this will naturally have a long-term effect on Iran, too.
It is important to bear in mind that the dramatic summit held in Singapore this week did not emerge "out of the blue" with no background. Years of contacts with the leaders of North Korea provided that background.
One of the persons who know the top political echelon in North Korea (as well as in Israel) better than most is Professor Giancarlo Elia Valori.
Over the years, Professor Valori met with the prime ministers of Israel (including Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu – who met him personally during a visit to Rome) many times. He also met the top national leaders of North Korea and China. Professor Valori was the only Westerner invited to the funeral of the founding father of North Korea, Kim Il-sung. Since the last change of government, he has been in contact with Kim Il-sung's son, the present leader, Kim Jong-un, and with Ri Yong-ho, the Deputy Chairman of the ruling party and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
A letter Ri Yong-ho wrote to Professor Valori on November 30, 2017, indicates that the leaders of North Korea had been seeking a "solution" vis-à-vis the USA for a long time while claiming that they had initiated their nuclear program owing to a "lack of choice."
Based on that letter, one may assume that the rise to power of the undiplomatic Donald Trump encountered North Korea's yearning for a solution that would remove it from the list of "pariah states."
The interests of both sides intersected in Singapore, and the leaders of the two countries made history.
But will the summit actually lead to a long-term solution that would disarm North Korea of its nuclear weapons?
From his home in Rome, Professor Valori told Israel Defense this week that the situation is "very sensitive." According to him, "I have known North Korea intimately for decades, and believe that a major opportunity has emerged, but on the other hand, nothing conclusive has been finalized, and the coming developments depend entirely on the moves Presidents Trump and Kim Jong-un will make. They must not err."
How will the reconciliation between the USA and North Korea affect Iran in the long run? As far as the Israeli defense establishment is concerned, this remains the greatest conundrum.
Meanwhile, back in Europe
Meanwhile, in Paris, it was evident this week that Europe is heading in the opposite direction – rearming. This direction drew not less than 73 Israeli companies to attend the major defense exhibition Eurosatory.
As far as many Israeli companies are concerned, Europe has reinstated itself as a huge target market after many years of stagnation. The reasons for the increase in sales to European countries are, quite naturally, the threats of terrorism and the unofficial return of the Cold War against Russia.
Elbit Systems, for example, has set Europe as a strategic market. The Head of the SIBAT (Defense Export & Defense Cooperation) Division of the Israel Ministry of Defense, Brig. Gen. (res.) Michel Ben-Baruch, said in Paris that the increasing sales in Europe contributed to the record Israeli defense export sales, which crossed the $9 billion bar for the first time in 2017.
At the same time, this week the German Parliament sanctioned a deal involving the leasing of Heron-TP UAVs by IAI. In the context of this deal, IAI signed an agreement with the Airbus Company for the leasing of the UAVs to the German Ministry of Defense. The scope of this deal, for IAI, is about $600 million.
Additionally, in Switzerland alone, Israeli companies are currently competing over projects worth not less than $2 billion. This places in question the decision by IMOD and IDF, two years ago, to cancel the position of a permanent defense attaché to this country.
Who will be the Next CEO of IAI?
Israel Aeronautics Industries (IAI) is Israel's largest defense industry in workforce terms. In two weeks' time, IAI will announce the identity of its next CEO. The competition between the three leading candidates has intensified this week. The candidates are Maj. Gen. (res.) Nimrod Sheffer, IAI's EVP Strategy and R&D; Eyal Younian, VP Finance; and Boaz Levi, EVP Systems Missile & Space Group.
As far as the Israeli intelligence agencies are concerned, the historic summit between Trump and Kim is interesting primarily because of the impact on the Iranian nuclear program. Meanwhile, the European market has reawakened and now shows a lot of interest in the Israeli industries. Amir Rapaport's weekly column
President Trump at the Singapore summit (Photo: AP)
For many Israelis, North Korea is located so far away (nearly 9,000 km away, to be precise), as to pose no tangible threat to Israeli national security.
However, as far as the Israeli intelligence agencies are concerned, the outlook is radically different: admittedly, North Korea does not constitute a direct threat to Israel, but its long-range missile development projects and nuclear projects are closely associated with the build-up efforts of Iran and Hezbollah (to the extent of economic cooperation and cooperation in development processes and tests). Additionally, the nuclear reactor Israel attacked in Syria in September 2007 had originated in North Korea.
Under these circumstances, it is safe to assume that over the years, Israel has had a special interest in knowing what takes place at the missile and nuclear installations in North Korea. If North Korea should actually disarm and call off its nuclear program, this will naturally have a long-term effect on Iran, too.
It is important to bear in mind that the dramatic summit held in Singapore this week did not emerge "out of the blue" with no background. Years of contacts with the leaders of North Korea provided that background.
One of the persons who know the top political echelon in North Korea (as well as in Israel) better than most is Professor Giancarlo Elia Valori.
Over the years, Professor Valori met with the prime ministers of Israel (including Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu – who met him personally during a visit to Rome) many times. He also met the top national leaders of North Korea and China. Professor Valori was the only Westerner invited to the funeral of the founding father of North Korea, Kim Il-sung. Since the last change of government, he has been in contact with Kim Il-sung's son, the present leader, Kim Jong-un, and with Ri Yong-ho, the Deputy Chairman of the ruling party and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
A letter Ri Yong-ho wrote to Professor Valori on November 30, 2017, indicates that the leaders of North Korea had been seeking a "solution" vis-à-vis the USA for a long time while claiming that they had initiated their nuclear program owing to a "lack of choice."
Based on that letter, one may assume that the rise to power of the undiplomatic Donald Trump encountered North Korea's yearning for a solution that would remove it from the list of "pariah states."
The interests of both sides intersected in Singapore, and the leaders of the two countries made history.
But will the summit actually lead to a long-term solution that would disarm North Korea of its nuclear weapons?
From his home in Rome, Professor Valori told Israel Defense this week that the situation is "very sensitive." According to him, "I have known North Korea intimately for decades, and believe that a major opportunity has emerged, but on the other hand, nothing conclusive has been finalized, and the coming developments depend entirely on the moves Presidents Trump and Kim Jong-un will make. They must not err."
How will the reconciliation between the USA and North Korea affect Iran in the long run? As far as the Israeli defense establishment is concerned, this remains the greatest conundrum.
Meanwhile, back in Europe
Meanwhile, in Paris, it was evident this week that Europe is heading in the opposite direction – rearming. This direction drew not less than 73 Israeli companies to attend the major defense exhibition Eurosatory.
As far as many Israeli companies are concerned, Europe has reinstated itself as a huge target market after many years of stagnation. The reasons for the increase in sales to European countries are, quite naturally, the threats of terrorism and the unofficial return of the Cold War against Russia.
Elbit Systems, for example, has set Europe as a strategic market. The Head of the SIBAT (Defense Export & Defense Cooperation) Division of the Israel Ministry of Defense, Brig. Gen. (res.) Michel Ben-Baruch, said in Paris that the increasing sales in Europe contributed to the record Israeli defense export sales, which crossed the $9 billion bar for the first time in 2017.
At the same time, this week the German Parliament sanctioned a deal involving the leasing of Heron-TP UAVs by IAI. In the context of this deal, IAI signed an agreement with the Airbus Company for the leasing of the UAVs to the German Ministry of Defense. The scope of this deal, for IAI, is about $600 million.
Additionally, in Switzerland alone, Israeli companies are currently competing over projects worth not less than $2 billion. This places in question the decision by IMOD and IDF, two years ago, to cancel the position of a permanent defense attaché to this country.
Who will be the Next CEO of IAI?
Israel Aeronautics Industries (IAI) is Israel's largest defense industry in workforce terms. In two weeks' time, IAI will announce the identity of its next CEO. The competition between the three leading candidates has intensified this week. The candidates are Maj. Gen. (res.) Nimrod Sheffer, IAI's EVP Strategy and R&D; Eyal Younian, VP Finance; and Boaz Levi, EVP Systems Missile & Space Group.
