North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has hailed progress on drones built by his country’s weapons developers, which include what appear to be clones of U.S. systems, and he stressed the importance of unnamed vehicles and artificial intelligence in modernizing his military, state media reported.
Why It Matters
Kim’s promotion of indigenous drone technology and artificial intelligence indicates its importance in nuclear-armed North Korea’s defense plans.
North Korea is facing off against South Korean and U.S. forces across one of the world’s most heavily fortified frontiers and the North’s technological advances are closely watched. There have been reports that North Korea aims to ship its war drones to U.S. adversaries, including Iran and its proxy forces.
What To Know
North Korea state media said Kim attended a test organized by the Unmanned Aeronautical Technology Complex.
“He learned in detail about the performance and combat application of various types of unmanned weapons and equipment, including strategic and tactical unmanned surveillance vehicles and multi-purpose drones being developed and produced,” the Rodong Sinmum state newspaper reported.
Kim “expressed great satisfaction over the result,” and noted that unmanned equipment was emerging as a major military asset.
Kim said it was “a top priority and important task in modernizing the armed forces of the DPRK to put on a highly developed basis the core technology of unmanned equipment and artificial intelligence,” the newspaper reported.
Kim was referring to his country by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Last year, state media showed Kim inspecting his country’s latest military hardware which included the apparent clones of two unmanned U.S. Air Force aerial vehicles, the RQ-Q Global Hawk and the MQ-9 Reaper.
The pair of North Korean drones was first seen at an arms exhibition and military parade in July 2023. The Saetbyol-4, which shares the Global Hawk’s bulging fuselage design, is a reconnaissance aircraft while the Saetbyol-9, like the Reaper, is an attack drone.
North Korean soldiers learned firsthand about drone warfare when they helped Russia battle Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, from late last year. South Korea’s main security agency said at the time the North Koreans initially struggled against Ukrainian drones and suffered heavy casualties.
What People Are Saying
Kim was quoted in state media as saying: “The utility range of unmanned equipment is being further expanded in modern warfare and unmanned equipment is emerging and a major military activity asset.”
Hong Min, a senior researcher at South Korea’s Korea Institute for National Unification, told the Yonhap news agency the North could be sending a message to its adversaries, the United States and South Korea, whose forces have been holding military exercises this month: “North Korea could intend to show its capability to reconnoiter the enemies’ activity and attack major radar or air defense bases.”
What Happens Next
There has been no indication of more North Korean troops being sent to help Russia as it fights inside Ukraine, or of them being sent to another trouble spot, though Kim, at a medal ceremony in August, said: “Our army is now doing what it ought to do and what needs to be done. It will do so in the future, too.”