North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has overseen a performance test of various drones, calling for the development and production of more suicide drones to enhance war preparedness, state media reported Monday.

Kim supervised the test organized by the Drone Institute of the Academy of Defence Sciences on Saturday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

In the test, the drones flew along various preset courses and correctly destroyed the designated targets, as they have missions to attack enemy targets on the ground and in the sea, the report said.

This photo, carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 26, 2024, shows the North’s leader Kim Jong-un (R) inspecting a performance test of drones on Aug. 24. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

This photo, carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 26, 2024, shows the North’s leader Kim Jong-un (R) inspecting a performance test of drones on Aug. 24. (For Use Only in the
Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

The North’s leader stressed that it is important to develop drones of different types and improve their combat capabilities in a bid to prepare for war.

“It is necessary to develop and produce more suicide drones of various types to be used in tactical infantry and special operation units, as well as strategic reconnaissance and multi-purpose attack drones,” Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.

In addition to constantly developing underwater strategic weapon systems and underwater suicide attack drones, he also raised the need for proactively introducing artificial intelligence technology into the development of drones.

Photos carried by the KCNA showed two white suicide attack drones hitting and destroying mock targets of what look like K-2 tanks. North Korea has unveiled photos of such weapons for the first time.

At a year-end party meeting in December last year, Kim ordered the development of powerful unmanned combat equipment, such as spy and attack dro
nes, and means for electronic warfare.

In July 2023, North Korea unveiled two types of new reconnaissance and multi-purpose attack drones at an arms exhibition and a military parade. The North also sent five drones across the border with South Korea in December 2022, with one of them penetrating a no-fly zone close to Seoul’s presidential office.

Source: Yonhap News Agency