CAIRO — The ongoing cooperation between Egypt and North Korea under Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has led Washington to reiterate calls on Egypt to freeze such ties. This comes amid leaks that the US State Department's suspension of military aid to the Egyptian government was not linked to Egypt’s human rights record as stated, but to these specific ties, especially at the military level, as Pyongyang failed to respond to US pressure not to conduct a long-range missile test. On Aug. 23, the United States suspended $195 million in military aid to Cairo and delayed an additional $95.7 million.

The White House said in a July 5 statement that US President Donald Trump called his Egyptian counterpart. According to the statement, Trump stressed the threat from North Korea and the need for all countries to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea, stop hosting North Korean guest workers and stop providing economic or military benefits to the country.

The relationship between North Korea and Egypt was confirmed in a report issued by the United Nations on Feb. 23, 2015, whereby the North Korean Ocean Maritime Management Company (OMM) played a key role in arranging the illicit shipment of concealed arms through individuals and entities based in Egypt and other countries.

The UN report said that OMM representatives were embedded in a company (Sunlight Agency) in Port Said at least until 2011.