North Korea: Kim Jong Un supervises AI-powered suicide drones, unveils early-warning aircraft

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un touts AI suicide drones, early-warning aircraft.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the testing of suicide drones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) technology, emphasising that unmanned control and AI capabilities should be top priorities in modern weapons development, state media reported on Thursday.

According to the KCNA state news agency, Kim also inspected newly upgraded reconnaissance drones designed to detect a range of tactical targets and monitor enemy activities on both land and sea.

"The field of unmanned equipment and artificial intelligence should be top-prioritized and developed in modernizing the armed forces," KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

North Korea has officially unveiled an airborne early-warning aircraft for the first time, a development that could enhance its ageing air defence systems.

State media photographs showed Kim Jong Un ascending the steps of a large four-engine aircraft with a radar dome mounted on its fuselage and observing it during a low-altitude fly-by.

Analysts using commercial satellite imagery have previously reported that North Korea was modifying the Russian-made Il-76 cargo aircraft for early-warning operations.

According to a September report by London's International Institute for Strategic Studies, such an aircraft could complement North Korea’s existing land-based radar systems, which are sometimes hindered by the peninsula's mountainous terrain.

"The ability of an AEW aircraft to look down mitigates some of the challenges of the terrain and ground-clutter returns to track low-flying aircraft and cruise missiles," the report said.

One AEW aircraft would not be enough, however, and North Korea would risk canabilising the rest of its cargo fleet to build more, the report said.

South Korea's military said the aircraft's operational capability is not yet clear but its appearance indicated it is "large and heavy and probably susceptible to interception."

While the aircraft was refurbished from the existing fleet, "Russia may have had something to do the internal system and parts," Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung-jun told a briefing, when asked about possible Russian assistance.

Russia has provided North Korea with anti-air missiles and unspecified air defence equipment, in return for Pyongyang's deployment of troops to help with the Ukraine war, South Korea's national security adviser Shin Won-sik said in November.

Kim separately inspected newly developed equipment for reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, electronic jamming and attack systems, KCNA said.

Photos showed fixed-wing UAV zeroing in on a tank-shaped target then exploding in flames. Kim was seen walking with aides with what appeared to be an unmanned surveillance aircraft that resembles the U.S. RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude surveillance aircraft parked on the tarmac in the background.

North Korean troops deployed in Russia's war against Ukraine are believed to have been engaged in drone warfare, gaining valuable battleground experience.

(With Reuters Input)