Kim urges drone dominance as North Korea fires missiles and rockets

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for his country to seize “absolute superiority” in drone technology as he attended an exhibition and demonstration of unmanned aeronautical technology, state media KCNA reported on Friday.

The firepower demonstration following the exhibition involved tactical suicide attack drones, tactical cruise missiles, multipurpose drones and a battalion of 600 mm multiple rocket launchers, KCNA said.

The display highlights Kim’s push to modernize North Korea’s armed forces by using drones and artificial intelligence as Pyongyang draws lessons from its forces’ experience in Russia’s war against Ukraine and from other global conflicts.

KCNA photographs showed unmanned aerial vehicles bearing the North Korean Air Force’s emblem at the exhibition attended by Kim and some of his generals.

Another series of images showed what appeared to be an unmanned aerial vehicle crashing into a military vehicle on a hill and exploding in a ball of flame, which KCNA said was part of a weapons demonstration during the exhibition.

South Korea’s military said on Thursday that North Korea had fired around 10 projectiles, including short-range ballistic missiles.

According to KCNA, Kim said that pursuing superiority in drone technology was “an indispensable option” given the changing nature of modern warfare.

He also said using high-level AI in unmanned weapons systems should be a top priority for North Korea in building modern armed forces, KCNA reported.

Kim has made repeated calls for the development of drones and AI in the military. According to state media, Kim ordered mass production of suicide attack drones in November 2024 and oversaw tests of AI-equipped versions in March 2025. In September 2025, he called AI a top priority in modernizing weapons.

Since October 2024, North Korea has sent more than 16,000 personnel to Russia to aid Moscow in its war against Ukraine, and gained battlefield experience in drone, electronic and combined-arms warfare, according to South Korean intelligence.

North Korea is transforming its military with drones and AI, drawing lessons from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at South Korea’s Kyungnam University.

By showing a comprehensive display of weapons, North Korea is trying to “shut off the possibility of dialogue or negotiations” with South Korea, Lim said.