North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversees AI suicide drone showcase

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversees AI suicide drone showcase

Published: 27 Mar. 2025, 18:15

SEO JI-EUN
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Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watches an aircraft that appears to be an airborne early warning and control aircraft flying as he guides the defense science research work of the Unmanned Aeronautical Technology Complex and the detective electronic warfare research group, in this undated photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency on March 27. The guidance took place on March 25 to 26. [YONHAP]

North Korea revealed its first airborne early warning and control aircraft and showcased AI-powered suicide drones on Thursday, signaling a major push to modernize its military capabilities.

The unveiling appears to reflect Pyongyang’s deepening military ties and technology transfers with Moscow, as well as battlefield insights gained from the war against Ukraine, where North Korean troops support Russian forces.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the “Unmanned Aeronautical Technology Complex” and the “Detective Electronic Warfare Research Group” between Wednesday and Thursday, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), where he oversaw performance tests of newly developed unmanned reconnaissance drones and AI-equipped suicide drones.

Kim emphasized that unmanned systems and AI should be “prioritized” in the modernization of the armed forces.

He stressed the importance of “promoting the rapid development of the work to use intelligent drones” in keeping with modern warfare trends, in which competition for using reconnaissance drones is “being accelerated and the range of their use is steadily expanding in military activities,” according to the KCNA's English-language report.

“Up-to-date technology would [...] give full play to their might in enhancing our army's capability of conducting various kinds of intelligence-gathering operations and neutralizing the enemy's combat means of various missions,” Kim added.

The KCNA reported that a new type of strategic reconnaissance drone “proved” its ability to monitor targets on land and sea, while suicide drones also “fully demonstrated” their effectiveness in tactical strikes.

Pyongyang also unveiled its first airborne early warning and control aircraft — a type commonly referred to as a “command post in the sky,” as it monitors the airspace and coordinates battlefield operations via radar.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, speaks inside an aircraft that appears to be an airborne early warning and control aircraft as he guides the defense science research work of the Unmanned Aeronautical Technology Complex and the detective electronic warfare research group, in this undated photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency on March 27. The guidance took place March 25 to 26. [YONHAP]

North Korean media also released photos of Kim boarding the surveillance aircraft, resembling a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 transport plane, retrofitted with a radome, which is a protective dome housing radar systems.

A map of the Korean Peninsula was visible on a screen inside the cockpit, where Kim was photographed giving instructions to military officials.

The move is seen as part of Pyongyang’s effort to close its technological gap in aerial surveillance and command systems, which have lagged behind those of South Korea and the United States.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service has reported signs that North Korea received training from Russia in drone operations and tactics as well as manufacturing technology. Furthermore, North Korean troops dispatched to Russia last year reportedly suffered heavy losses from Ukrainian drone attacks — a bloody lesson believed to have accelerated Pyongyang’s focus on drone warfare.

Pyongyang analysis website 38 North reported signs of Pyongyang modifying an Il-76 into an early warning platform as early as October 2023 based on satellite imagery.

Given that such a conversion would typically take years, analysts speculate that core components, such as radar systems, may have been imported from the North's allies, potentially in violation of international sanctions.

“The internal systems and components likely have ties to Russia, while the aircraft appears to be a modified version of one already possessed by North Korea,” South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said during a press briefing Thursday.

Yet South Korean military officials remain cautious in estimating the aircraft’s actual performance.

Early warning aircraft transmit surveillance data to command centers like the Air Force’s Master Control and Reporting Center (MCRC) and coordinate with naval and air forces through secure data links.

North Korea's airborne early warning and control aircraft reveals that it “still needs verification in terms of operational effectiveness,” Col. Lee said, adding that the aircraft could be “very heavy and vulnerable to interception.”

A target tank, hit by a suicide attack drone, explodes as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un guides the defense science research work of the Unmanned Aeronautical Technology Complex and the detective electronic warfare research group, in this undated photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency on March 27. [NEWS1]

Alongside the airborne early warning and control aircraft and suicide drones, North Korea also revealed a reconnaissance drone with a resemblance to the U.S. RQ-4 Global Hawk.

The drone appears to be a more advanced model than the North's Saetbyol-4, which was first displayed during a military parade in July 2023, featuring significantly longer wings.

Thursday's showcase follows earlier orders by Kim to advance North Korea’s unmanned aerial capabilities. In August 2024, he inspected new suicide drones and emphasized the need to incorporate AI into their development. Just three months later in November, he oversaw another test of suicide drones and ordered their mass production.

“The North is clearly concentrating on modernizing its lagging drone technologies, particularly after experiencing their destructive power and vulnerability [through its deployment to Russia,]” said Yang Moo-jin, president of the Seoul-based University of North Korean Studies. “With Pyongyang and Moscow's relationship at its peak, North Korea is likely to continue modernizing its advanced weapons systems by compensating for its technological shortfalls through Russian cooperation.”

BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]