North Korean State Councilor Kim Jong-un is speeding up his asymmetric power buildup that will change the game of the future battlefield by observing a series of new reconnaissance and attack unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) performance tests. As Korea is completely behind Korea in the competition for conventional weapons, it is making a side road to make up for it. If nuclear weapons are asymmetric power that costs a lot, drones are cost-effective and low-cost power.

In particular, North Korea seems to have set drone power enhancement as a top priority after soldiers of the People's Army dispatched to the Ukrainian front were helplessly attacked by a Ukrainian drone. Chairman Kim began encouraging mass production of self-destructive drones last year.

On the 27th, the Korean Central News Agency reported extensively that Chairman Kim guided the National Defense Science Research Project of the unmanned aerial technology association and the detection electronic research group from the 25th to the 26th. On the same day, North Korea released a photo showing a self-destructive drone with artificial intelligence (AI) technology flying and hitting a mock target tank. It also reported a photo of Chairman Kim looking at a aircraft believed to be a large unmanned reconnaissance aircraft called Saebyeol-type 4. "In the test, the innovative performance of the new unmanned strategic reconnaissance aircraft, which has the ability to track and monitor enemy activities on the ground and at sea, has been confirmed," the news agency said.

Chairman of the states Affairs Commission Kim observed the self-destructive drone performance test and said, "The field of unmanned equipment and artificial intelligence technology in the modernization of force is an area that should be prioritized and developed." "It is important to push forward patiently and strongly with mid- to long-term projects," he said.

North Korea is so eager to develop self-destructive drones because it has seen the effectiveness of drones in the Russia-Ukraine war. Self-destructive drones with overwhelming cost-effectiveness are nicknamed "the cruise missiles of the poor."

In particular, the reconnaissance and self-destruction drones recently released by North Korea through state media were different from the crude form that was sent over South Korea in the early and mid-2010s.



Chairman of the states Affairs Commission Kim visited facilities related to self-destruct drones several times last year and has been pushing to increase power. In November last year, after observing the self-destructive drone performance test, he ordered, "Build an affiliate production system as soon as possible and start mass production in earnest." "(Drones) are becoming easier to use as a component of the strike force in new areas despite low production costs and simple processes," he said, stressing that drone development is an "essential demand" from a military perspective.

Currently, North Korea is known to have a total of 1,000 power units, including 20 small drones with 1-6 meters and 500 units. After the 2020s, North Korea released the Saebyeol-4 and 9, a large model that mimics the U.S. high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft "Global Hawk (RQ-4)" and the unmanned attack aircraft "Ripper (MQ-9). Inside and outside the military, there are observations that North Korea may have obtained drone-related technology from Russia as one of the considerations for sending the Kursk front line. Recently, the National Intelligence Service analyzed that the North Korean troops dispatched are learning drone tactics and how to control them from the Russian military on the local front.

While North Korea is focusing on attack drones, the South Korean military is focusing on introducing high-performance and medium-sized reconnaissance drones.



Korea also established the Drone Operations Command in September 2023 and is developing various scale surveillance and reconnaissance drones as well as attack drones and "drone-killer drones." However, as North Korea focuses on expanding its attack drones, there seems to be some question marks over its direction. There are also concerns that if North Korea pushes ahead with a bee-style drone attack, there will be insufficient measures to respond to it.

The South Korean military has also been diversifying its operating models by increasing drone power since North Korean drones invaded Seoul in late 2022. After the incident, the military authorities responded by flying the Corps-class unmanned reconnaissance aircraft "Songgolmae (RQ-101)" up to 5 kilometers north of the armistice line.

Depending on the model, the military authorities are developing drones in Korea or introducing them overseas, filling up the arsenal. The South Korean military also operates U.S.-made Global Hawk and Israeli-made Heron unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.

Last year, the South Korean military introduced 200 Polish self-destructive drones called "Warmates." In the long run, it is known that it has also set a direction to stockpile self-destructive drones in large quantities like "shells." However, it does not seem to be speeding up compared to North Korea, which has set expanding drone power as a priority. In this regard, a military source said, "The military's drone development speed is somewhat slow," adding, "We need to actively develop domestic and introduce overseas."

[Reporter Kim Sung Hoon]