North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test of suicide drones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) technology, emphasising that unmanned control and AI capabilities should be the top priorities in modern arms development, state media reported on Thursday.
According to the KCNA state news agency, Kim also inspected upgraded reconnaissance drones designed to detect various tactical targets and enemy activities both on land and at sea.
“The field of unmanned equipment and artificial intelligence should be top-prioritised and developed in modernising the armed forces,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
North Korea also officially revealed an airborne early-warning (AEW) aircraft for the first time, a development that could enhance its ageing air defence systems.
Photographs published by state media showed Kim approaching a large four-engine aircraft with a radar dome mounted on the fuselage and observing the aircraft during a low-altitude fly-by.
Analysts using commercial satellite imagery have previously reported that North Korea was converting Russian-made Il-76 cargo planes for an early-warning role. The International Institute for Strategic Studies in London noted in a September report that such an aircraft would help supplement North Korea’s existing land-based radar systems, which are sometimes hindered by the peninsula’s mountainous terrain.
“The ability of an AEW aircraft to look down mitigates some of the challenges of the terrain and ground-clutter returns to track low-flying aircraft and cruise missiles,” the report said.
However, the report also stated that a single AEW aircraft would not be sufficient, and North Korea might have to repurpose more of its cargo fleet to build additional units.
South Korea’s military said the aircraft’s operational capabilities remain unclear, but its appearance suggests it is “large and heavy and probably susceptible to interception.”
While the aircraft was refurbished from North Korea’s existing fleet, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung-jun suggested that Russia may have played a role in providing internal systems and components.
South Korea’s National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik previously stated in November that Russia had supplied North Korea with anti-air missiles and unspecified air defence equipment in exchange for Pyongyang’s deployment of troops to assist in the Ukraine war.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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