SEOUL (AFP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the “mass production” of attack drones, state media reported on Friday, as concerns mount over the country’s deepening military cooperation with Russia.
Pyongyang first unveiled its attack drones in August, with experts saying the capability may be attributable to the country’s budding alliance with Russia.
Pyongyang has ratified a landmark defence pact with Moscow and is accused of deploying thousands of troops to Russia to support its war in Ukraine, prompting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to warn about the potential transfer of sensitive Russian military technology to North Korea.
Kim on Thursday reportedly oversaw the tests of drones designed to hit both land and sea targets, produced by North Korea’s Unmanned Aerial Technology Complex.
“He underscored the need to build a serial production system as early as possible and go into full-scale mass production,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The unmanned drones are designed to carry explosives and be deliberately crashed into enemy targets, effectively acting as guided missiles.
Thursday’s test saw the drones “precisely” hit targets after flying along predetermined paths, KCNA reported.
“The suicide attack drones to be used within different striking ranges are to perform a mission to precisely attack any enemy targets on the ground and in the sea,” the agency said.
Kim said the drones were an “easy to use… component of striking power” due to their relatively low production cost and expansive range of applications, as per KCNA.
He said the North had “recently attached importance” to developing unmanned hardware systems and to integrating them with the country’s overall military strategy.
Russian tech?
Experts said the drones — in images released by state media in August — looked similar to the Israeli-made “HAROP” drone, Russian-made “Lancet-3” and Israeli “HERO 30”.
North Korea may have acquired these technologies from Russia, which in turn likely obtained them from Iran — with Tehran itself suspected of accessing them through hacking or theft from Israel.
In 2022, Pyongyang sent drones across the border that Seoul’s military was unable to shoot down, saying they were too small.
South Korea launched a drone operation command last year to better address the growing threat.
And earlier this year, Pyongyang accused Seoul of violating its sovereignty by flying drones over its territory to drop propaganda leaflets.
South Korea’s military has denied the allegation.
In October, the North amended its constitution to define South Korea as a “hostile” state, an illustration of a sharp deterioration in ties since Kim in January declared Seoul his country’s “principal enemy”.
The North has continued to carry out UN sanctions-defying ballistic missile tests, and in October blew up roads and railways linking it to the South.
