PHOTO Kim Jong o overturned testing unmanned drones. The development of artificial intelligence for flight appliances is the main military priority
This photo provided by the North Korean government shows a drone that Kim Jong has supervised in an unknown place in North Korea, on Thursday, September 18, 2025. Independent journalists did not have access to the event and the content of this image is the one that cannot be verified independently. Photo source: Kcna via kns / ap / profimedia
North Korean leader Kim Jong was supervised on Thursday, unanswered drone testing and ordered the consolidation of their capabilities through artificial intelligence, KCNA press agency reported on Friday, according to Reuters.
On Thursday, Kim was pleased with the results of the tests performed with the “Kumsong” unanswered tactical tactical plane and with the North Korean unanswered strategic recognition plane and approved an additional consolidation plan of unmanned aircraft, KCNA informed.
The images broadcast by the official Korean Korean news agency Central News Agency showed a pilot vehicle taking off and then destroying a target.
In accordance with the state press, the exercise demonstrated the “excellent effectiveness in the fight of tactical attack drones in the Kumsong series”, informing that Kim expressed his “great satisfaction” to the result, according to AFP.
Drones are outlined as an “important asset for military activity, becoming an important priority and task in the modernization of the RPDC armed forces,” said Kim, quoted by KCN.
He also ordered “efforts for the rapid development of recently introduced artificial intelligence technology”, as well as “expanding and strengthening” drone production capacities.
Kim supervised in March the testing of suicide drones equipped with AI technology.
What do analysts say about alliance with Russia
An analyst Hong Min at the Korean Institute for national unification in Seoul said that Kim considers the technology of drones essential to ensure the “high power status”.
“The drones arouse concern because they represent a cheap and very effective threat: the autonomous execution of the missions, improved precision and lethality, adequacy for the production in series and increased tactical flexibility,” he added.
The Phenian presented his first attack drones last year, and experts warned that his new capabilities in this field could be related to his alliance with Moscow.
Analysts also say that the North Korean troops sent to fight for Russia will gain experience in the modern war, including the use of drones on the battlefield.
Limul-CHUul, from Kyungnam University in South Korea, said artificial intelligence could allow North Korean drones to “work even if GPS or communications signals are bruised, based on pre-entrepreneur algorithms.”
North Korea has tested GPS jamming attacks on South Korean targets-an operation that affected several ships and dozens of civil aircraft.
“The development of artificial intelligence has gained advance in 2024, based on Russian technology transfers and lessons learned in the Ukraine war,” Lim said.
South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said that North Korea has sent over 10,000 soldiers to Russia in 2024-mainly in the Kursk region-along with artillery, rockets and long-range missiles.
Seoul said about 600 North Korean soldiers were killed and thousands were injured fighting for Russia.
Kim inspected on Thursday the construction of a large farm with greenhouses in Sinuiju, on the border with China, Kcna said.
