Report 5015
SEOUL --- North Korea has showcased what it claims are "suicide attack drones" powered by artificial intelligence, part of an effort to update its weapons capabilities as its soldiers reportedly gain front-line experience in Ukraine with modern warfare technologies.
Leader Kim Jong Un called for North Korea to produce more reconnaissance and attack drones, saying development of unmanned control and AI capability will be top priorities for the nation's military, state media reported.
While North Korea's latest claims could not be independently verified, its ambitions should be taken seriously, said Cha Du-hyeogn, a former South Korean intelligence adviser who is now a North Korea analyst at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul.
"North Korea is realizing the need for not only nuclear weapons but also modernized capabilities in large-scale warfare, like AI and unmanned systems," Cha said. "There is a risk that these could become actual combat capabilities in a relatively short period of time."
Lawmakers in Seoul are also concerned.
"North Korea is completely transforming itself by upgrading its weapons systems for modern warfare based on its experiences in the war in Ukraine, and by copying military technologies from countries like China and Russia," Yoo Yong-won, who sits on the National Defense Committee, told local media Friday.
Pyongyang on Thursday claimed to have developed a "new-type strategic reconnaissance drone" that can track and monitor various targets and troop activity on land and at sea.
State media released photos of Kim inspecting a large reconnaissance drone on a runway and of other drones crashing into ground targets. The large drone in the photo is a model similar to the United States' RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance aircraft, experts say. North Korea first introduced this type of drone at a weapons exhibition in Pyongyang in 2023.
Also on Thursday, in a state media report, North Korea showed for the first time an airborne early-warning and control aircraft, which would allow North Korea to manage air and ground operations simultaneously in real time.
Kim stressed the importance of "keeping with the trend of modern warfare in which the competition for using intelligent drones as a major means of military power is being accelerated and the range of their use is steadily expanding in military activities," according to the Korean Central News Agency report.
North Korea did not specify what AI technology is used in its new suicide attack drones, nor when it plans to ramp up production.
It's questionable whether these alleged new capabilities can be mass-produced any time soon, Cha said.
For example, suicide attack drones are typically small and easy to maneuver, allowing them to go undetected and be produced in large quantities. But North Korea has not yet shown evidence that it has mastered such technologies, let alone incorporated AI technologies that can detect air defense systems, he said.
North Korea in recent months has been emphasizing its reconnaissance drone technology, which is a key component of Kim's military modernization plan. Kim has been pushing to mass-produce suicide drones.
The apparent advancements have raised concerns among Ukrainian and South Korean officials that Russia may be providing relevant technologies to Pyongyang in return for North Korean soldiers being deployed to support Moscow in its war against Ukraine.
Lee Sung-joon, spokesman for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday that the drone looked "large and heavy and probably susceptible to interception."
The drone appeared to be a modified version of an existing fleet, and "Russia may have had something to do with the internal systems and parts," Lee said.
North Korea appears to have deployed about 3,000 additional soldiers in January and February to reinforce Russian troops, the South Korean military said this week.
North Korea had sent some 12,000 troops to Russia's Kursk region last fall, according to estimates from South Korean, Ukrainian and U.S. officials. Ukrainian troops invaded Kursk in August and have been holding on to a sliver of territory there. Ukrainian troops in Kursk said last month that they were facing renewed assaults by North Korean troops.
North Korea is continuing to send missiles, artillery equipment and ammunition to support Russia, including short-range ballistic missiles, 170mm self-propelled guns and 240mm multiple-rocket launchers, South Korea said.