North Korean Leader Oversees Test of ‘Suicide Drones’ Amid US–South Korea Drill

Kim Jong Un has called for producing ‘more suicide drones of various types,’ according to Pyongyang’s official mouthpiece.

People at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, watch a television news story showing a photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un witnessing the test-firing of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile on March 17, 2023. Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a test of domestically built drones on Aug. 24, including a new weapon known as “suicide drones,” according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

KCNA reported on Aug. 26 that the drones were developed by the North Korean Drone Institute of the Academy of Defense Sciences but did not specify where the test was held.