N Korea’s Kim inspects test of ‘AI suicide attack drones’

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been seen examining new suicide drones that, according to state media, are outfitted with artificial intelligence (AI). The undated photos issued by the secretive nation’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) depict Kim surrounded by officials on a runway examining a drone.

Kim consented to a strategy for increasing the production of the equipment, KCNA reported. Analysts have suggested that the advancement of the technology was probably aided by Russia, which North Korea has recently backed by deploying its troops to assist with Moscow’s conflict in Ukraine.

James Patton Rogers, the executive director of the Cornell Brooks Tech Policy Institute and a drone specialist, concurred that the attack drone showcased the “fruits” of the deeper connections developed between the two in recent years.

North Korea first disclosed the presence of the drones – referred to as loitering munitions that collide with targets using their integrated warheads – in August 2024. At that time, KCNA stated that Pyongyang would act “proactively” in “integrating artificial intelligence technology” into its weaponry.

Mr. Patton Rogers expressed that it “ought to alarm South Korea and the global community” that Pyongyang is currently advancing such capabilities. Alongside the drone, Kim also revealed what is believed to be the nation’s inaugural airborne early-warning plane.

These aircraft, resembling commercial planes more closely, utilize radar to offer an aerial view of a combat zone. Officials in South Korea noted that additional time would be needed to assess the efficacy of Pyongyang’s airborne early-warning aircraft. Lee Sung-jun, the director of public affairs for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated during a briefing on Thursday that the internal devices and components might have links to Russia.

Kim Jong Un is alleged to provide weapons to Russia, while Vladimir Putin is believed to be offering North Korea technology that may support their missile program. In June of the previous year, Putin and Kim finalized a pact promising that Russia and North Korea would assist one another if faced with “aggression” directed at either nation.

In the previous month, South Korea’s intelligence agency reported that North Korea had dispatched additional troops to Russia and re-positioned others to the frontline in the western Kursk area where Ukraine executed a rapid incursion.