Kim Jong Un Calls to Ramp Up Mass Production of Attack Drones

(Bloomberg) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for the mass production of attack drones after Pyongyang accused Seoul of flying unmanned aerial vehicles in the airspace over its capital in what it called a “war provocation.”

Most Read from Bloomberg

• Under Trump, Prepare for New US Transportation Priorities

• Zimbabwe City of 700,000 at Risk of Running Dry by Year-End

• NYC Congestion Pricing Plan With $9 Toll to Start in January

• Saudi Neom Gets $3 Billion Loan Guarantee From Italy Export Credit Agency Sace

• The Urban-Rural Divide Over Highway Expansion and Emissions

Kim oversaw the performance tests of various attack drones under development in his second field inspection in less than three months, the nation’s official Korean Central News Agency said on Friday.

Photos released by KCNA showed a drone flying over the top of a car, which is then seen having been set ablaze.

While the technical quality of North Korea’s UAVs remains unclear, Kim has made the development of drones for use in the air and at sea a top priority.

“He underscored the need to build a serial production system as early as possible and go into full-scale mass production,” the state media said. The drones precisely hit their targets after flying along different tactical routes, it said.

South Korea received a wake-up call about threats from drones when Pyongyang sent five UAVs across the border in 2022, including one that flew near President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office in Seoul. South Korea’s military tried and failed to shoot the devices down. One complicating factor was a reluctance to fire munitions in heavily populated areas.

Shortly after the episode, South Korea unveiled a plan to spend about 560 billion won (US$400 million) over the next five years on drone warfare, including systems meant to shoot down those from adversaries. The Yoon administration said it’s looking to develop and deploy laser weapons to destroy North Korea’s drones.

The race to develp UAVs came into the spotlight again after North Korea claimed last month that South Korea had infiltrated the airspace over its capital with drones, saying the act constituted an undeniable war provocation. Seoul has not confirmed whether it sent any drones across the border.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

• Elon Musk Has a New Project to Run: Trump’s Government

• North Dakota Wants Your Carbon, But Not Your Climate Science

• Oh, the Irony. Trump’s Triumph and the Next Four Years

• For Europe, the Next US President Is a Shock—and a Catalyst for Change

• How a Winning Bet on Crypto Could Transform Brain and Longevity Science

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.