North Korea mass-producing suicide attack drones

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the ‘mass production’ of suicide attack drones, state media reported.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting a factory in South Hwanghae Province. Picture: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the “mass production” of suicide attack drones, state media reported on Friday, after he watched a test of the weapons system a day earlier.

Kim oversaw the tests of drones designed to hit land and sea targets, produced by North Korea’s Unmanned Aerial Technology Complex.

“He underscored the need to build a serial production system as early as possible and go into full-scale mass production,” ­Korean Central News Agency reported.

“Suicide drones” are explosive-carrying unmanned drones designed to be deliberately crashed into enemy targets, effectively acting as guided missiles.

Pyongyang unveiled its suicide drones for the first time in August, with experts saying the capability may be attributable to the country’s deepening alliance with Russia.

Thursday’s test saw the drones “precisely” hit targets after flying along predetermined paths, KCNA reported.

“The suicide attack drones to be used within different striking ranges are to perform a mission to precisely attack any enemy targets on the ground and in the sea,” the agency said.

Kim said the drones were an “easy to use … component of striking power” due to their relatively low production cost and expansive range of applications.

He said the North had ­“recently attached importance” to developing unmanned hardware systems and to integrating them with the country’s overall military strategy.

Experts said the drones looked similar to the ­Israeli-made HAROP suicide drone, Russian-made Lancet-3 and Israeli HERO 30.

North Korea may have ­acquired these technologies from Russia, which in turn likely obtained them from Iran, with Tehran itself suspected of ­accessing them through hacking or theft from Israel. South Korea launched a drone operation command last year to better address the growing threat.

AFP