Kim Jong-un pledges new missions, assets for air force as branch marks 80th anniversary
Published: 30 Nov. 2025, 17:20
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, and his daughter Ju-ae, to his left, attend a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Air Force of the Korean People's Army at the Kalma Airport of the 59th Kil Yong Jo Hero Regiment of the 2nd Air Division on Nov. 28. [KCNA]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/30/8227c9bc-43cd-4f1a-95a0-4216275e6535.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, and his daughter Ju-ae, to his left, attend a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Air Force of the Korean People's Army at the Kalma Airport of the 59th Kil Yong Jo Hero Regiment of the 2nd Air Division on Nov. 28. [KCNA]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un promised to assign "new and important missions along with new strategic military assets" to the air force during an event marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the military branch on Friday, signaling his intention to accelerate the modernization of the North’s air force, which has long been considered outdated, and incorporate it as a pillar of the country’s nuclear deterrence.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim said at the ceremony in Wonsan’s Kalma Airport on Friday that “the expectations of the Party and the country for the Air Force which will play a role in the exercise of the nuclear war deterrent are very great.” While he did not specify what the “new strategic assets” are, multiple military sources said they are presumed to be long-range air-to-ground missiles mounted on Su-25 aircraft.
A missile shown for the first time in photos released by North Korean media resembled Germany’s Taurus KEPD 350. The cruise missile is capable of precisely striking origin points of provocations or command-and-control facilities from outside an adversary’s air defense zone. The South Korean military considers the Taurus, which has a maximum range of about 500 kilometers (310 miles), a core part of its "Kill Chain" pre-emptive strike system.
Some analysts also said the missile resembles Russia’s Kh‑59MK2. Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said the missile “appears shorter than the Taurus, which reaches 5 meters [16 feet] in length,” and added that “its near-square shape makes it more similar to Russia’s long-range guided air-to-ground missile.”
North Korea appears to be trying to compensate for the short operational radius of aircraft such as the Su-25 by adopting long-range air-to-ground missiles. Hong said Pyongyang “seems to be seeking long-range precision strike capabilities through this missile” and that it could become “a means of performing nuclear or nonnuclear precision strikes by bypassing the South Korean and U.S. air defense network.”
A new air-to-air missile mounted on a MiG-29 was also seen on Friday. North Korea first revealed the missile at a weapons exhibition in Pyongyang in October 2021 and released footage of a test firing in May through state media. It is believed to be a domestically developed copy of the German IRIS-T. The North Korean hacking group Kimsuky stole data from the defense company Dill Defense in an attack last October. Some analysts said the missile resembles China’s PL-12, which has a maximum effective range of 100 kilometers.
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Ju-ae attend a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Air Force of the Korean People's Army at the Kalma Airport of the 59th Kil Yong Jo Hero Regiment of the 2nd Air Division on Nov. 28. [KCNA]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/30/09336566-515e-4da3-b2e2-c3c019ec3a5c.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Ju-ae attend a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Air Force of the Korean People's Army at the Kalma Airport of the 59th Kil Yong Jo Hero Regiment of the 2nd Air Division on Nov. 28. [KCNA]
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, and his daughter Ju-ae, to his left, attend a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Air Force of the Korean People's Army at the Kalma Airport of the 59th Kil Yong Jo Hero Regiment of the 2nd Air Division on Nov. 28. [KCNA]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/30/157704d9-6069-40a2-b8b7-40a59749e164.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, and his daughter Ju-ae, to his left, attend a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Air Force of the Korean People's Army at the Kalma Airport of the 59th Kil Yong Jo Hero Regiment of the 2nd Air Division on Nov. 28. [KCNA]
Also unveiled Friday was the North’s strategic unmanned reconnaissance drone Saetbyeol-4, sometimes referred to as a North Korean version of the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk, and the Saetbyeol-9, considered the North’s version of the General Atomics Reaper. Yu Youg-weon, a People Power Party lawmaker on the National Defense Committee, said North Korea “is focusing on improving the performance of weapons to be mounted on fighter jets to strengthen long-range air-to-ground capabilities” and appears intent on “showing off the modernization of its air force.”
During Friday's event, Kim Jong-un was accompanied by his daughter Ju-ae to a commemorative banquet. It was her first appearance in North Korean media in about 90 days, since she accompanied her father on his September trip to China.
The leader also said Friday that the North's air force “should resolutely repulse and control all sorts of espionage acts and possible military provocations of the enemies to encroach upon the sovereign airspace of [North Korea] with the overwhelming spiritual strength and offensive spirit.” The remark is believed to refer to the operation involving unmanned aircraft over Pyongyang in October and November last year.
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, second from right, and his daughter Ju-ae, far right, attend a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Air Force of the Korean People's Army at the Kalma Airport of the 59th Kil Yong Jo Hero Regiment of the 2nd Air Division on Nov. 28. [RODONG SINMUN]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/30/49cc3b6e-9955-480a-b946-6af4e4d02e45.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, second from right, and his daughter Ju-ae, far right, attend a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Air Force of the Korean People's Army at the Kalma Airport of the 59th Kil Yong Jo Hero Regiment of the 2nd Air Division on Nov. 28. [RODONG SINMUN]
On Oct. 11 last year, North Korea’s foreign ministry released what it called a “major statement,” saying that South Korea "should immediately stop such irresponsible and dangerous provocation that may cause an armed conflict and lead to a war between the two sides.” The ministry denounced what it described as Seoul's "despicable, low-grade and internationally embarrassing acts of filth and garbage balloons and other provocations.”
The special counsel in the South investigating the incident concluded that one of the unmanned aircraft deployed at the time crashed near Pyongyang and caused a leak of military secrets related to operations and capabilities. The team indicted former President Yoon Suk Yeol and others on Nov. 10 on general espionage charges. It is the first time North Korea has made any reference to the incident.
“North Korea did not reveal weapons designed to shoot down small drones at the event,” said a military source. “What North Korea referred to as reconnaissance activities appears to be a reference to last year’s Pyongyang drone operation.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIM SEOK-YONG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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