Kim was shown beaming as he watched, aided by high-powered binoculars, as the drones blew up targets, images in state media showed, AFP reported.
Kim said that “it is necessary to develop and produce more suicide drones,” the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, in addition to “strategic reconnaissance and multi-purpose attack drones.”
Suicide drones are explosive-carrying unmanned drones designed to be deliberately crashed into enemy targets, effectively acting as guided missiles.
The nuclear-armed North’s growing drone fleet will “be used within different striking ranges to attack any enemy targets on the ground and in the sea,” KCNA said.
All the drones North Korea tested on August 24 “correctly identified and destroyed the designated targets after flying along different preset routes,” it added.
Kim also said his country would work toward “proactively introducing artificial intelligence technology into the development of drones.”
In 2022, Pyongyang sent drones across the border which Seoul’s military was unable to shoot down, saying they were too small.
In 2023, South Korea launched a drone operation command to better address the growing threat.