North Korea has unveiled a new ‘suicide’ drone that bears a striking resemblance to notorious Iranian drones “Shahed” which Russia have been using to attack Ukraine.
The new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was unveiled in a military test overseen by North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. The images broadcast by the North Korean state channel are blurred but experts say there's enough to see the resemblance to the Iran-made Shahed and the Russia-made Lancet-3.
The relationship between the three countries has deepened since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both Iran and North Korea are accused of helping the Russian war efforts by sending weapons, including missiles and drones.
“We understand that some gifts [drones] were given in an exchange between North Korea and Russia in the past,” a spokesperson for South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said Monday when asked about the similarities. “We need to analyze various measures to see if those have improved performance.”
South Korea may be most concerned about North Korea’s military advancements. But the United States would also watch carefully for such signs of close cooperation between Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Iran has invested heavily in its missile and drone program, testing several iterations of its flagship drone, Shahed, which has been used by Russia to attack Ukraine, and was used by Iran to attack Israel in April.
The North Korean ‘suicide’ drone tested on Monday “can fly over 1,000 km,” a South Korean scientist told Agence France-Presse. “They are demonstrating their capacity to strike targets at both tactical and strategic levels.”
The expanding drone fleet of nuclear-armed North Korea will “be deployed within various striking ranges to target any enemy on land or at sea," the North Korean official news agency (KCNA) claimed following the test Monday.
Kim was shown smiling at the drones’ reported effectiveness. He called for “more suicide drones” to be made, according to KCNA.
In 2022, North Korea sent drones across the border that the South Korean military failed to shoot down.
Suicide (or kamikaze) drones are UAVs carrying explosives that are guided remotely to crash into targets, effectively acting as guided missiles.