His visit to the Unmanned Aeronautical Technology Complex on Thursday sent a clear signal: for North Korea, artificial intelligence and drone warfare are now at the heart of military priorities.
State broadcaster KCNA reported that Kim called the rapid advancement of AI technologies in weapons “a top priority” for his regime. North Korea wants to “expand and strengthen the serial production capacity of drones,” Kim declared.
The demonstration came just days after Kim oversaw a successful test of a new solid fuel rocket engine intended for intercontinental missiles, which he praised as a vital expansion of the country’s growing nuclear force. For many experts, these events highlight North Korea’s sharpened focus on high-tech warfare and long-range offensives.
North Korea’s AI Ambitions and Global Connections
While the country’s military arsenal is undeniably formidable, the sophistication of its AI capabilities remains a question mark. Estimates from the United States Defense Intelligence Agency put North Korea’s active duty forces at about one million, with some seven million reservists backing them. This military power includes not just missiles, but also an early-stage spy satellite program.
Reports from analysts at 38 North reveal that North Korea is not isolated in its AI ambitions. “Substantial efforts” have been made to bridge the technology gap, including cooperation with academics from China, South Korea, and even the United States. Most of this progress is linked to China, regarded as a global leader in artificial intelligence.
Pyongyang’s longstanding reliance on China is shifting as Kim courts new relationships. Last year, a security pact was signed with Russia. Kim joined President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin in Beijing this month, a diplomatic summit that many analysts say underscored Kim’s desire for world stage recognition.
Despite its contributions—an estimated ten billion dollars in weapons and tens of thousands of troops to support Russia in Ukraine—North Korea’s rewards from Moscow have been relatively muted. A German research institute reported Pyongyang has received as little as four hundred fifty seven million and at most nearly one point two billion dollars in return, mainly in food, fuel, air defense gear, and possibly some aircraft.
US military intelligence in May noted, “North Korea is in its strongest strategic position in decades, possessing the military means to hold at risk US forces and US allies in Northeast Asia, while continuing to improve its capability to threaten the US.”
As tension lingers on the peninsula, Kim Jong Un has dismissed joint US and South Korea military exercises as “a rehearsal of a war of aggression.” For an in-depth look at how bold AI transformation for its armed forces is shaping North Korea’s military, see recent analysis.
