Politics News

Kim Jong Un demands “absolute superiority” in drones as North Korea fires rockets

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for the rapid expansion of drone technology at a weapons exhibition held on Thursday, October 29, according to state media cited by several outlets. The Korea Herald said the event, titled “Unmanned Aeronautical Technology Development-2026”, featured drones and demonstrations of cruise missiles and a 600-millimetre multiple rocket launcher, and that Kim urged scientists to speed up work on military artificial intelligence.

Yonhap reported the launcher was showcased as an “ultra-precision” weapon called “Sniper”, and that senior diplomats from South Korea, the United States and Japan discussed the latest launches by phone. The Hindu quoted Kim on the need to seize “the absolute superiority in the drone technology”.

Superiority in drones is “an indispensable option” in modern warfare. — Kim Jong Un, via The Japan Times

On Friday, North Korea's defence ministry also condemned the Freedom Flag air drills that Seoul and Washington began on Monday for two weeks, vowing to “thoroughly” deter them with force, The Korea Herald reported.

How each outlet framed it

• Yonhap — the weapon and the diplomacy: the “Sniper” launcher and the three-way call between allies.
• The Korea Herald — AI and drones as Pyongyang's new priority, and its threat over the air drills.
• The Japan Times — Kim's reasoning: drones as a must-have in a changing kind of warfare.
• The Hindu — a straight report of Kim's speech, citing the state news agency KCNA.

What we don't know yet: All the details come from North Korean state media. None of the reports gives an independent assessment of how well the weapons performed.