North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the “mass production” of suicide drones, saying the emergence of such unmanned aerial vehicles around the world requires an urgent update of military theory, Korean media reported on Friday.
Kim was in charge of testing drones designed to hit land and sea targets and created by North Korea’s Unmanned Aerial Technology Complex (UATC).
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
He (Kim) emphasised the need to establish a mass production system as soon as possible and move to full-scale mass production.
“Suicide drones” are aircraft carrying explosives and designed to deliberately hit enemy targets. North Korea first unveiled its suicide drones in August.
In tests conducted in North Korea this week, the drones “accurately” hit targets, KCNA reported. North Korea’s state news agency said in a statement:
The suicide drones, which will be used at different ranges, are expected to fulfil the task of accurately attacking any enemy targets on land and sea.
KCNA reported that Kim said the drones are an “easy-to-use … strike power component” due to their relatively low production cost and wide range of applications.
Kim also added that North Korea has “recently attached great importance” to developing unmanned hardware systems and integrating them into the country’s overall military strategy.
North Korea frequently conducts ballistic missile tests in defiance of UN sanctions.
Tensions between North and South Korea have taken a new turn of escalation. Since late May, the North has sent more than five thousand balloons containing paper, plastic bottles and other household waste across the inter-Korean border.
North Korean authorities claim that such launches are a reaction to the actions of South Korean right-wing groups, which for many years now have occasionally sent homemade balloons with propaganda materials, mainly leaflets and USB keys, towards North Korea.
