Russia training North's drone pilots in Pyongyang and Wonsan, Ukrainian official says

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Published: 03 Jul. 2025, 18:39

This image from the Korean Central News Agency on Nov. 15, 2024, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, overseeing a test of suicide attack drones produced by local firms. [YONHAP]

North Korea has established drone production with Russia's help, and Russian instructors are also training drone pilots in Pyongyang and the eastern city of Wonsan, a Russian official's Telegram showed Thursday.

"As I said back in the autumn [...] the production of Shahed-Geran drones in North Korea has already been established with Russia's help," Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council's Center for Countering Disinformation, said in a Telegram post uploaded the previous day.

Geran is the Russian designation for the Iranian-made suicide drone, Shahed. Kovalenko also said Russian instructors are working in Pyongyang and in the Kalma airfield area of Wonsan, training North Korean drone pilots to operate both strike and combat drones.

Ukraine's intelligence agency disclosed last month that Russia had agreed to transfer production technology for the Geran drone to North Korea, as Pyongyang and Moscow have strengthened their military alignment since signing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty in June last year.

Yonhap