North Korea leader directs test of ‘suicide drone’

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SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un directed the demonstration of a new “suicide drone” and pledged to push for development of such weapons to bolster the military’s combat readiness, state media reported Monday.

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Kim Jong Un has been showing off his growing military capabilities amid tensions with Washington and Seoul. Photos of North Korea’s test launches showed a white drone with an X-shaped tail and wings that allegedly hit and destroyed a target that resembled a South Korean K-2 main battle tank. Most combat drones stay away from their targets and attack with missiles.

The test took place on Saturday, according to state media, as U.S. and South Korean militaries conducted large-scale exercises aimed at improving their joint ability to defend against North Korea’s nuclear threat.

The U.S. and British allies said the exercises, which will run until Thursday, will focus on improving their ability to respond to a variety of North Korean threats while also drawing lessons from recent armed conflicts.

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North Korea’s official KCNA news agency reported Saturday’s test involved multiple types of drones with different flight ranges to attack enemy targets on land and at sea. KCNA said the drones flew along various routes before accurately hitting the test targets.

Kim Jong-un said that global military technology and modern combat trends have shown the importance of drones in warfare, and the North Korean army should be equipped with advanced drones “as soon as possible.”

He called for accelerated development and production of various systems, including “suicide drones” that can be used by infantry and special operations forces, reconnaissance and multi-purpose attack drones, and underwater suicide attack drones, KCNA said.

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Animosity is high on the Korean Peninsula as Kim Jong Un uses Russia’s war in Ukraine as a distraction while strengthening his nuclear forces and issuing verbal threats of conflict to Washington and Seoul.

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While much of the international attention has been focused on long-range missiles designed to reach the U.S. mainland, Kim Jong Un has also been expanding his arsenal of weapons aimed at rival South Korea, most notably with short-range missiles and artillery systems that North Korea claims are nuclear-capable.

Earlier this month, Kim Jong-un held a grand ceremony in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang to mark the delivery of 250 nuclear missile launchers to frontline military units and called for the continued expansion of the military’s nuclear program.

The incident heightened concerns about Kim Jong Un’s weapons programs as he has indicated his intention to deploy battlefield nuclear weapons on the North Korean-South Korean border and has said he would respond with a preemptive nuclear strike if his military believed the leadership was threatened.

Analysts say Kim may seek to ratchet up pressure in a U.S. election year as he pushes forward his long-standing goal of forcing Washington to accept the idea of ​​North Korea as a nuclear power and to extract concessions in economic and security talks from a position of strength.

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