Kim Jong-un Supervises North Korea's Suicide Drone Test, Wants Its Production Increased

JAKARTA - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called on the country's researchers to develop artificial intelligence for unmanned vehicles, while witnessing a suicide drone test, state media reported Monday.

Leader Kim visited the Unmanned Aircraft Institute of the North Korean Academy of Defense Science on Saturday, where he witnessed a test of a drone that successfully identified and destroyed a designated target after flying along a predetermined route.

On the occasion, he called for the production of more suicide drones for use in tactical infantry and special operations units, such as underwater suicide attack drones, as well as strategic reconnaissance and multi-purpose attack drones, KCNA said, reported by Reuters on August 26.

Also known as loitering munitions, such weapons have been widely used in wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

loitering munitions can usually be airborne and ready to attack before a specific target is found, then attack by hitting the target with a built-in warhead.

Photos released by state media showed at least four different types of drones, some of which were launched with the help of small rocket engines before their propellers took over.

Separately, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said further analysis was needed, when asked about visual similarities between some of the North Korean drones and the Russian ZALA Lancet and the Iranian-designed Shahed, which are also used by Russia.

"We understand that some gifts (of drones) were given in exchanges between North Korea and Russia in the past. We need to analyze various measures to see if they have improved performance," a JCS spokesman told a briefing.

Seoul's Unification Ministry, meanwhile, said it was the first time Pyongyang had launched a suicide drone.

Nuclear-armed North Korea is known to have close ties with Russia and Iran and has a history of military cooperation with both.

Several North Korean drones crossed the border into the South in 2022, even entering the no-fly zone around the Seoul presidential office, before turning back.

South Korea has said it will deploy laser weapons to shoot down North Korean drones this year, becoming the first country in the world to deploy and operate such weapons in the military, while several skyscrapers in Seoul have installed anti-aircraft guns on their roofs.