North Korea orders mass production of attack drones after seeing Russia’s tactics up close

• Kim Jong-un has ordered the mass production of attack drones, North Korean media report.

• The move comes after the country ratified a mutual defense treaty with Russia.

• A Ukrainian official told BI that North Korean troops are receiving Russian training on drone warfare.

According to North Korean state media, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the mass production of exploding drones on Thursday.

This comes just a week after a Ukrainian official told Business Insider that North Korean soldiers were receiving training from Russian forces on the use of drones.

Kim oversaw the tests of several drones before issuing instructions to the country’s defense industry, according to state media KCNA, according to a translation by news aggregator KCNA Watch.

Kim emphasized the need to “build a series production system as early as possible and move to full-scale mass production.”

The news agency released partially redacted footage of Kim watching tests of cruciform attack drones, as well as images of a BMW and an armored vehicle, both apparently destroyed during the tests.

Kim emphasized how cheap drones are and commented on the race to develop attack drone capabilities worldwide, the news agency said.

Kim also oversaw drone tests in August, where he called for the development of several types of drones, including reconnaissance and underwater drones, Reuters reported at the time, citing state media.

Attack drones that explode on impact are a key feature of the war in Ukraine.

Russia has made widespread use of Lancet drones and Iranian-designed Shahed drones in attacks on both Ukrainian military positions and critical domestic infrastructure.

Ukraine has also relied heavily on drones to combat Russia’s increased military power.

There are growing concerns about closer ties between Russia and North Korea.

North Korea ratified a mutual defense treaty with Russia this week, under which the two countries will come to each other’s aid in the event of an attack.

North Korea has also steadily expanded its military cooperation with Russia. Ukraine claims that up to 11,000 North Korean troops have been sent to help push back Ukrainian forces in Kursk.

The soldiers are operating in Russian uniforms and are spread across Russian divisions fighting in Ukrainian-occupied western Russia, Andrii Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian Center for Combating Disinformation, told Business Insider.

Last week, Kovalenko told BI that “Russia is training North Korean soldiers to operate attack UAVs and reconnaissance drones.”

This training, which takes place under live combat conditions, “poses a threat to both Ukraine and South Korea as some of these soldiers will transfer their skills back to North Korea,” he said.

Kovalenko also said there are plans to send Russian drone instructors to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, for further training of North Korean personnel.

“North Korea can use these skills for future terrorist actions in its border areas with South Korea,” he said.

BI could not independently verify his statements.

The exact terms of the military exchange with Russia are not known, but North Korea experts told BI that the country is likely to receive not only economic aid but also technical assistance. The deal is likely to give the state leverage to ask about advanced Russian weapons systems or their designs.

The partnership brings another benefit to North Korea: much-needed live combat experience and technical know-how.

North Korean forces have not seen significant fighting since the 1950s.

“It’s a win-win situation,” Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., a North Korean defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told BI last month.

Kim will have access to foreign technology, he said, as well as “access to real-world combat information to improve his defensive and offensive capabilities.”

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