North Korea leader Kim Jong-un led a test of self-exploding drones and ordered mass production of this type of weapon, noting that the introduction of such drones around the world requires an urgent modernization of military theory, the North Korean news agency KCTA reported today, quoted by Reuters and BTA.
"(Kim) stressed that a mass production system should be built as soon as possible and move to full-scale mass production,", the KCTA said.
Kim noted that the race to use unmanned aerial vehicles for military purposes is accelerating around the world, with militaries appearing to recognize their success in conflicts of varying scales. "Such an objective change requires urgent updating of many parts of military theory, practice and education,", he stressed.
This type of drones with explosives is designed to deliberately crash into the enemy target, acting as a guided missile, France Press recalls. Such weapons are widely used in the war in Ukraine, as well as in the Middle East, adds Reuters.
Kim attended kamikaze drone tests earlier this year as well. Pyongyang first unveiled these drones in August. Amid rapidly developing military cooperation with Russia, questions are being raised about whether he is receiving technical assistance from Moscow to develop them. Experts believe that these North Korean drones, whose photos were published by state media in August, resemble the Russian "Lancet 3", as well as the Israeli "Harop" (Harop) and "Hiro 30" (Hero 30). It is possible that North Korea acquired these technologies from Russia, which in turn probably obtained them from Iran, and Tehran itself is suspected of gaining access to them through hacking attacks or theft from Israel, notes AFP.
KCTA announced that during yesterday's test, the drones precisely hit their targets, following pre-set trajectories. "Self-detonating attack drones used for attacks at various distances can strike enemy targets on land and at sea," the North Korean agency added.
North Korea sent drones across the border with the South that flew for hours over key areas, including the capital Seoul, and over the no-fly zone around the South Korean presidency. This prompted South Korea to deploy weapons to shoot down North Korean drones, Reuters recalls.
North Korea and Russia recently ratified a comprehensive strategic partnership signed by the two countries' leaders in June, which includes a mutual defense pact.
Pyongyang has sent its soldiers to Russia's western front lines in the war with Ukraine, with South Korean and US officials saying North Korean soldiers have fought alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
US President Joe Biden will express concern to other leaders he will meet in Peru about the presence of North Korean soldiers in Russia, his national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, calling it an important development, Reuters reported , quoted by BTA.
To reporters accompanying Biden to Peru, where he will hold private meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the leaders of Japan, South Korea and Brazil as part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Sullivan said, that it expects a coordinated package of solutions" in response to the North Korean question.
Sullivan said the leaders of the US, Japan and South Korea are working to institutionalize trilateral ties as an "enduring feature of American policy".