Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for the country to achieve “absolute superiority” in drone technology, declaring unmanned weapons and artificial intelligence (AI) central to modern warfare as Pyongyang showcased an expanding arsenal of drones, cruise missiles and multiple rocket launchers.
Kim made the remarks during an exhibition and weapons demonstration of unmanned aeronautical technology, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on October 29.
The event featured tactical suicide attack drones, tactical cruise missiles, multipurpose drones and a battalion of 600 mm multiple rocket launchers.
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Pursuing superiority in drone technology was “an indispensable option” given the changing nature of modern warfare, Kim said, according to KCNA. The leader also called for the use of advanced AI in unmanned weapons systems to become a top priority in building the country’s modern armed forces.
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
The exhibition came as North Korea increasingly incorporates drones and AI into its military modernization efforts, drawing lessons from Ukraine and other recent conflicts.
KCNA photographs showed Kim inspecting rows of unmanned aerial vehicles alongside senior military officials. Other images depicted a drone crashing into a military vehicle positioned on a hillside and exploding in a ball of flame as part of the weapons demonstration.
South Korea’s military said a day earlier that North Korea had fired around 10 projectiles, including short-range ballistic missiles.
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
The display also offered a glimpse of several weapons that could significantly expand North Korea’s drone capabilities. State media showed for the first time a tailless, flying-wing stealth drone. Other photographs depicted racks of fiber-optic-guided first-person-view attack drones and loitering munitions resembling the U.S. Switchblade 600.
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Mock targets resembling South Korean-made K9 self-propelled howitzers, American-made M1 Abrams main battle tanks and radars suggested that the weapons were designed for use against South Korean and U.S. forces.
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Kim has repeatedly called for expanding the military’s drone capabilities. In November 2024, he ordered the mass production of suicide attack drones, followed by tests of AI-equipped versions in March 2025. He subsequently identified AI as a top priority for weapons modernization in September of the same year.
North Korea’s military has also gained battlefield experience through its participation in defensive actions in the Russian special military operation.
The exhibition came amid deteriorating relations between the two Koreas. Seoul has vowed to respond firmly to what it considers North Korean violations of the military border, while Pyongyang has condemned joint South Korean-U.S. air defense drills.
North Korea’s Defense Ministry said the exercises were increasing tensions on the peninsula and warned that there was “no limit” to its options for maintaining a strong deterrent posture, KCNA reported.
Tensions have also risen following a landmine explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone last month that seriously wounded several South Korean soldiers. Seoul blamed a North Korean mine, an accusation Pyongyang denied. Earlier in October, Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, said North Korea would activate anti-South Korean propaganda loudspeakers along the countries’ entire border by the end of the month.
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north korea! 🫡🇰🇵🫡