North Korea’s communist dictator Kim Jong-un made an appearance at the testing of allegedly homemade models of suicide drones, state media reported on Friday, the first time Kim has been seen in public since President-elect Donald Trump won a second term in the White House.
North Korean state media at press time has not mentioned the American election results at all, meaning the vast majority of the population of North Korea does not know that Trump won the election, as non-state forms of media and all mass communications are illegal. Kim maintained acrimonious relations with outgoing President Joe Biden, who did not implement a coherent policy towards the Korean peninsula during his term. Kim developed a working rapport with Trump during his first term, meeting with him on three occasions, but the discussions ended abruptly when Trump walked out of a meeting in 2019 objecting to Kim’s insistence on removing all sanctions on the rogue regime.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) claimed on Friday that the suicide drone tests occurred the day before and were largely successful. The report featured various photos of Kim “guiding” and “inspecting” the military operations, blurring out the drones to prevent foreign governments from analyzing the models. The report follows months of North Korea suggesting it would dramatically increase the manufacture of these models, sometimes called “loitering munitions,” and their surge in popularity in major international war theaters, most notably in Ukraine.
Suicide drones are essentially flying bombs that can be precisely maneuvered to strike key targets, typically of one-time use. Should North Korea enter the global market for selling drones, they would be likely be competing in the same markets as Iran, whose “Shahed” class of drones have become popular weapons in Russian hands in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Suicide drones are typically less expensive to manufacture than other models.
Kim repeated his call on Thursday for “urgently” engaging in “full-scale mass production” of high military technology and “updating many parts of military theory, practice and education,” state media relayed.
KCNA reported, offering little detail, that the suicide drones in question, “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.” It claimed the drones all hit their targets precisely and praised the tests as a “landmark occasion.”
The South Korean news service Yonhap, analyzing the photos published in North Korean state media, reported that the tests appeared to consist of drones “accurately hitting what is presumed to a BMW sedan.”
“Experts said the North may intend to show it could use a suicide drone to assassinate South Korean figures,” the agency reported.
“The competition for using drones as the main means of military capabilities by introducing innovative technology is being accelerated in the world,” Kim reportedly said during the tests. “The military authorities in the world will probably recognize that the drones are achieving clear successes in big and small conflicts.”
Drones, he said, were “an essential requirement in military aspect nowadays.”
The communist regime first announced that it was building its own suicide drones in August.
“It is necessary to develop and produce more suicide drones of various types to be used in tactical infantry and special operation units,” Kim declared at the time.
South Korean outlets suggested at the time that the drones showcased in North Korean state media had similarities with a variety of models from around the world, including the Iranian Shaheds and some Russian models. The latter is notable as Kim Jong-un has dedicated tremendous effort this year to improving Pyongyang’s already serviceable relations with Moscow, succeeding in hosting strongman Vladimir Putin in the capital in June. Kim and Putin signed a mutual defense agreement during that visit that preceded widespread reports of North Korean troops entering the Ukrainian war theater.
Even before the mutual defense treaty, Kim visited Russia in September 2023, a rare international trip for the reclusive tyrant. While there, Kim received “five kamikaze drones and a ‘Geran-25’ reconnaissance drone with vertical takeoff” as gifts, according to the Russian news agency Tass. The gifts potentially violated United Nations sanctions, though the Russian government vehemently denied that they did so.
Separate from the drone tests, Kim also made an appearance on Thursday at industrial factories allegedly still under construction.
“He [referring to Kim] highly appreciated and expressed his heartfelt thanks to the soldier-builders who are creating precious and perfect entities to be handed down to posterity as the people’s wealth by displaying their strength, wisdom and enthusiasm,” KCNA reported.
“It is important for all the builders to enhance their responsibility and role more than ever before as the end of the year is near and the completion of the factories is at the final stage,” Kim reportedly added.