Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un [Source: Reuters]
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided a test of suicide drones and ordered a mass production of the aerial weapon, saying the introduction of such drones around the world requires an urgent update of military theory, state media said.
Kim had previously supervised the test of suicide drones, earlier in the year amid a rapidly developing military cooperation with Russia, raising questions as to whether he was receiving technical help from Moscow to develop them.
Also known as loitering munitions, such weapons have been widely used in the war in Ukraine as well as in the Middle East.
Kim said the competition for using drones for military purposes is accelerating around the world, with military authorities likely recognizing their success in conflicts of various scale.
North Korea has sent drones across the border to the South flying for hours in key areas including the capital, Seoul, and over the no-fly zone surrounding the South Korean presidential office.
That has prompted South Korea to deploy weapons to shoot down North Korean drones.
North Korea and Russia have recently ratified a comprehensive strategic partnership that their leaders signed in June, which includes a mutual defence pact.
North Korea has deployed its troops to Russia’s western frontlines in the war with Ukraine, and South Korean and U.S. officials have said North Korean soldiers have engaged in combat against Ukraine alongside Russian forces.
