North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for accelerating the development of strike drones and military artificial intelligence. He made the corresponding statement during an exhibition of unmanned technologies and weapons demonstration held on October 29.
This was reported on October 30 by the South Korean agency Yonhap, citing the DPRK state news agency KCNA.
At the exhibition "Development of Unmanned Aerial Technologies - 2026", various types of multi-purpose and strike drones were displayed, including devices for performing strategic and tactical tasks.
During the demonstration, the DPRK military used kamikaze drones, unmanned aerial vehicles with air-to-surface missiles, tactical cruise missiles, and large-caliber multiple rocket launcher systems.
According to KCNA, the strike drones and cruise missiles successfully hit targets on one of the islands with 100% accuracy. There is no independent confirmation of these results.
North Korea also for the first time publicly demonstrated combat firing from the 600-mm Sniper multiple rocket launcher system. According to North Korean state media, its accuracy and reliability were tested during the trials.
As The Korea Herald notes, Kim Jong Un called the development of unmanned technologies one of the most important directions of military modernization. He instructed the military industry to accelerate the introduction of artificial intelligence into unmanned weapons systems and improve their combat capabilities.
The North Korean leader also called on scientists to achieve a technological breakthrough in the development of military drones. According to him, unmanned systems play an increasingly important role in modern warfare.
The weapons demonstration took place on the same day that South Korea's military detected another series of missile launches from DPRK territory.
According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, about ten short-range ballistic missiles were launched from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea (Sea of Japan). They flew approximately 250 kilometers.
South Korean military believe that the super-large caliber KN-25 multiple rocket launcher systems could have been used for the launches. Pyongyang previously stated that these systems can be equipped with tactical nuclear warheads.
Meanwhile, according to Aju Press, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command confirmed the missile launches, but stated that they did not pose an immediate threat to the U.S. or its allies.
The U.S. side reported two ballistic launches, while South Korean military observed about ten. The reasons for the discrepancy in assessments were not clarified.
There is currently no final confirmation that the missile launches recorded by South Korea were directly related to the weapons demonstration observed by Kim Jong Un.
Sources: Yonhap News Agency, The Korea Herald, Aju Press
