This file 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 the performance test of suicide attack drones, and stressed the need for prompt full-scale mass production, the North's state media reported Friday.
Kim provided on-site guidance for the tests of various types of suicide attack drones, produced by an affiliated institute of the Unmanned Aerial Technology Complex and related companies, the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
"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 at sea," the KCNA noted.
The tests involved the drones precisely hitting the targets after flying along various preset tactical routes, it said.
Suicide drones, also known as loitering munitions, have emerged as important weapons in a war as they can attack tanks and other targets at relatively low cost.
Photos released by the KCNA showed a drone accurately hitting what is presumed to a BMW sedan. Experts said the North may intend to show it could use a suicide drone to assassinate South Korean figures.
Kim expressed satisfaction with the new drones and underscored the need for promptly going into full-scale mass production, saying drones emerged as "an essential requirement in military aspect nowadays."
"The competition for using drones as the main means of military capabilities ... is being accelerated in the world," he said, highlighting their expanding range of military application, low production cost and simple production lines.
Kim affirmed that his country has "full possibility and potentiality to produce and introduce various types of drones" and would seek the possibility of combining and applying "new and promising tactical methods" as required by modern warfare.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and military officials stand next to what they say is a mobile missile launcher vehicle at an undisclosed location in this undated still image used in a video released in Nov. 1. Reuters-Yonhap
"The Workers' Party of Korea has recently attached importance to the line of perfectly combining unmanned military hardware systems with operational plans," Kim said, underscoring the need for a serial production system as early as possible and go into "full-scale mass production."
The KCNA reported that Kim's latest inspection marks "a landmark occasion" providing momentum for the country's efforts to defend its sovereignty and security, adding that drones are "practical and essential" in strengthening national defense capabilities, and deterring challenges and threats.
Drones are among high-tech weapons the North's leader vowed to develop during a key party congress in 2021, along with other sophisticated weapons systems, such as a nuclear-powered submarine, spy satellites and a hypersonic warhead.
North Korea first disclosed a performance test of suicide attack drones in August, which was also overseen by Kim on-site.
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.
Friday's report by the North's state media marked Kim's first public appearance since the U.S. election, but it did not carry a message on the election results. (Yonhap)