• Analysis
North Korea attack drones tested at demonstration as Kim Jong Un seeks 'absolute superiority'
North Korea tested attack drones, cruise missiles and 600mm multiple rocket launchers at a weapons demonstration, state media reported Friday, with Kim Jong Un calling for faster development of military drone and artificial intelligence technology.
What was shown at the demonstration
North Korea put attack drones, cruise missiles and 600mm multiple rocket launchers through their paces at a weapons demonstration, state media reported Friday, according to KCNA. The display also served as a test of the systems, the outlet reported.
The line-up included:
- •suicide attack drones
- •multipurpose drones firing air-to-surface missiles
- •cruise missiles
- •600mm multiple rocket launchers
KCNA said the drones and cruise missiles hit an island target with 100 per cent accuracy. The demonstration adds to recent north korea weapons tests, which have featured a new precision-guided torpedo system and an intermediate-range hypersonic missile, both said to employ AI technology.
Kim Jong Un's call for superiority in drone technology
Kim Jong Un used the event to press for faster development of military drone and artificial intelligence technology. In comments carried by KCNA, he said the aim to seize absolute superiority in drone technology is an indispensable option in the light of the ever-changing patterns of modern warfare.
He tied military strength to the country's security posture in a kcna drone statement that framed the two as inseparable:
Strength precisely means peace and peace is guaranteed only by strength.
Missile launches a day before
The weapons demonstration came a day after Seoul reported that North Korea fired around a dozen short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff detected the missiles fired from the Wonsan area towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, each flying about 250 kilometres (155 miles). Seoul and Washington are analysing the exact specifications.
Seoul's National Security Office said the launches violated UN Security Council resolutions, calling them serious acts that do nothing to help manage the current situation. South Korea's military said it stepped up surveillance of possible additional launches.
Border dispute behind the escalation
The latest round of north korea weapons tests sits inside a dispute that has grown over a landmine explosion along the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas, which wounded three South Korean soldiers. A joint Seoul-UN investigation earlier this month concluded North Korea planted the landmines over a year ago.
Seoul accused Pyongyang of a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement and demanded an apology, which the North dismissed mockingly. In response, Kim Yo Jong said last week the North would place loudspeakers on standby along the border within days and put unspecified new counter means on alert.
South Korea days later proposed military talks with the North to mutually confirm the precise location of the border and restore communication channels. Pyongyang has not responded. The two Koreas remain technically at war, as the Korean conflict ended in 1953 with a truce rather than a peace treaty.
US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, downplayed the possibility of a summit while insisting his relationship with Kim Jong Un was very good.
The demonstration followed the missile launches by a day, with Seoul's military stepping up surveillance of possible additional launches and Pyongyang yet to respond to Seoul's proposal for military talks.
