North Korea tests exploding drones as Kim calls for mass production

North Korea tests drones, Kim Jong Un calls for mass production amid escalating tensions with South Korea and U.S.

North Korea tested exploding drones designed to crash into targets and leader Kim Jong Un called for accelerating mass production of the weapons, state media said on Friday (November 15, 2024).

The country’s latest military demonstration came as the United States, South Korea and Japan engaged in combined military exercises involving advanced fighter jets and a U.S. aircraft carrier in nearby international waters, in a display of their defense posture against North Korea.

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North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency published photos of Mr. Kim talking with officials near at least two different types of unmanned aerial vehicles. They included those with X-shaped tails and wings that look similar to the ones the country disclosed in August, when Mr. Kim inspected another demonstration of drones that explode on impact.

The drones flew various routes and accurately struck targets, KCNA said. Its images showed what appeared to be a BMW sedan being destroyed and old models of tanks being blown up.

Mr. Kim expressed satisfaction with the weapons’ development process and stressed the need to “build a serial production system as early as possible and go into full-scale mass production,” noting how drones are becoming crucial in modern warfare.

KCNA paraphrased Mr. Kim as saying drones were easy to make at low cost for a range of military activities. The report didn’t say if Mr. Kim spoke directly about rival South Korea, which the North Korean drones are apparently designed to target.