This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, Aug. 26, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un, right, inspecting a performance test of drones, Aug. 24. Yonhap

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.

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.

"Expressing satisfaction over the tactical and technical features and data of the newly-developed drones, he stressed the need to more intensively conduct tests for their combat application and equip People's Army units with them as early as possible," the KCNA said.

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.

Among the unveiled drones, one of them appeared similar to Israel's Harop unmanned vehicle, while another model looked akin to Russia's Lancet drone, raising questions about possible cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow in drone development efforts.

This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, shows the North conducting a performance test of a suicide drone under the guidance of its leader Kim Jong-un, Aug. 24. Yonhap

Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, raised the possibility that Pyongyang may have publicized the test to seek cooperation with Russia in drone technology and production, citing Moscow's use of the Lancet in the war in Ukraine.

Suicide drones, also known as loitering munitions, have emerged as important weapons in the war as they can attack tanks and other targets at relatively low cost.

When asked whether Moscow may have directly supplied drones to Pyongyang, South Korea's military said more analysis is needed but noted that Russia has gifted the North with some drones in the past.

"Whether such drones underwent performance upgrades and other various possibilities require analysis," Lt. Col. Lee Chang-hyun, a spokesperson at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a regular briefing.

"Our military is thoroughly equipped with detection and interception systems against North Korean unmanned vehicles," he said.

Pyongyang and Moscow have recently deepened military ties, with the North's leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin signing a "comprehensive strategic partnership" pact during their summit in Pyongyang in June.

At a year-end party meeting in December last year, Kim ordered the development of powerful unmanned combat equipment, such as spy and attack drones, 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.

The North's test took place as South Korea and the United States are staging their annual summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which is set to conclude Thursday. Pyongyang has long denounced the allies' joint drills as preparations for an invasion against it. (Yonhap)