North Korea's New Suicide Drones: A Growing Threat with Foreign Influence

On August 24th, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a test of two loitering munitions produced by the Academy of Defense Sciences (ADS). The drones successfully struck their targets during the performance tests. One of the more significant aspects of the test was that the munitions shared similarities to the kamikaze drones produced by Iran, Israel, and Russia..August 24th Test Kim oversaw the test of two types of loitering munitions organized by the ADS’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Research Institute. Jon Yong Won, Ri Pyong Chol, and Pak Chong Chol, along with other members of the Korea Workers’ Party Politburo, attended the tests. The leader “expressed his appreciation for the recent development of unmanned aerial vehicles by the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Research Institute of the Academy of Defense Sciences.”.The two drones are described as having the mission of attacking various enemy targets on land and sea at different strike zones. The tests consisted of the munitions flying along different routes with all drones “accurately identifying and destroying the designated targets.”.After the tests, Kim said that developing different types of UAVs and “continuously improving their combat performance is an important part of war preparations, according to the trend of world military science and combat experience on the battlefield.” He then said that North Korea needs to develop and produce more “self-destructive unmanned aerial vehicles” for use by infantry at the tactical level and special operations units. Kim also highlighted their potential use by strategic reconnaissance and multipurpose UAVs..North Korea should continue to “develop underwater weapon systems such as nuclear torpedoes as well as various self-destructive underwater unmanned vehicles in accordance with the characteristics of maritime countries.” Kim also highlighted the necessity of actively introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in UAV development..Kim said he was satisfied “with the tactical and technical characteristics and specifications” of the newly developed UAVs used during the test. He emphasized the need to “intensify combat application tests and equip the units of the [Korea’s] People’s Army as soon as possible.”New Loitering Munitions Illustrates North Korea Emphasis on Gaining New Capabilities Through Illicit MeansThe new loitering munitions will significantly increase North Korea’s military offensive strike capabilities. The new munitions also demonstrate how North Korea could obtain technologies to assist it in developing new weapon systems. The drones will provide the North Korea Army (NKA) with an additional means to destroy Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) and other armored vehicles it would encounter during any conflict. North Korea places an emphasis on building this capability because they understand that their own MBT fleets cannot compete with their South Korean or U.S. counterparts.North Korea’s MBTs consist mainly of second-generation tanks such as the Type 59 and Type 62 but also tanks such as the M2020 that would be considered analogs to the K1A1/K2/M1A2SEP MBTs operated by South Korea and the United States. The lack of modern armor requires North Korea to place greater emphasis on Anti-Tank Guided Missiles such as the Bulsae series but also loitering munitions because of their proven ability to destroy MBTs. The NKA units would have an additional, organic anti-tank capability at the battalion or company level. Furthermore, the special operations units would use the drones to strike strategic targets, such as infrastructure facilities, logistical centers, armored, and supply columns, to decrease the operational tempo.Kim's comments about incorporating AI into loitering munitions and other drones, such as Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV), show how North Korea will incorporate new technologies into their equipment. The integration of AI into North Korea's military would significantly impact various aspects such as intelligence, Command and Control, and weapons research and development. However, AI’s most significant effect would be its incorporation in loitering munitions, ATGMs, and MBT’s fire control systems. By giving the AI the ability to identify South Korean and U.S. MBTs and armored vehicles without a soldier's input, it would increase the loitering munitions and ATGMs' targeting capability. This would be a significant increase to the NKA because it would allow the units to prioritize MBTs and Infantry Fighting Vehicles over other armored vehicles that would provide a greater impact. AI's incorporation into the MBTs' fire control systems would have a similar effect, enhancing their targeting capability and accuracy.The kamikaze drones’ similar appearance to proven designs illustrates how North Korea will utilize different sources to gain access to new technologies. The drone with the x wing pattern looks similar to the Russian-made ZALA Lancet-3 loitering munition in terms of layout and wing pattern. The similarity suggests that Russia provided the ADS with examples of the Lancet series and its components for examination and reverse engineering to aid in the development of its own drones. However, the other drone is similar to the Israeli Aerospace Industries' Harop loitering munition, suggesting that North Korea likely received assistance for UAV technologies from a source other than Russia. Russia does not operate the Herop or a drone with a similar appearance, which decreases the possibility that the drone originated from the technology deal. The drone could have originated from Iran because the country is known to steal and reverse engineer Israeli technologies to create its own weapon systems. A relatively intact example of the drone crashed in Iran during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, which would allow the country to gain access and examine various aspects of the drone. Iran likely transferred the drone technologies they acquired from the Harop to North Korea because of their previous cooperation and transfer agreements. North Korea could have incorporated Russian technologies they gained to complete their copy of the Harop.