North Korea ramps up kamikaze drone production amid tensions
According to the North Korean state news agency KCNA, Kim Jong Un has ordered the mass production of combat kamikaze drones. He views these devices as essential to military strategy.
Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the “guided a test of suicide drones and ordered a mass production of the aerial weapon” developed by a national institute on Thursday. He stressed the need to “build a serial production system as early as possible and go into full-scale mass production,” reported KCNA.
Kamikaze drones, also referred to as loitering munitions, are extensively used in the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, as noted by Reuters.
Kim Jong Un remarked that global competition in drone development has increased, their production is both cheap and straightforward, and their applications in combat operations are expanding.
Military experts worldwide acknowledge that drones achieve significant successes in both large and small conflicts. This trend has become a necessary requirement in the military sphere, he added.
Strengthening cooperation with Russia
Earlier this year, Kim observed a kamikaze drone test, and in relation to the strengthening of military cooperation with Russia, suspicions have arisen that Moscow might be assisting Pyongyang in the development of these machines. North Korea has sent soldiers to Russia's western front, where, according to American and South Korean officials, they are fighting against Ukrainians.
In 2022, five North Korean reconnaissance drones breached South Korean airspace, with one flying over the northern part of Seoul.
