North Korea wants “absolute superiority” in drones

North Korea has shown off what appears to be a new large flying-wing stealth drone, along with first-person-view attack quadcopters and loitering munitions, at an exhibition on Oct. 29 where leader Kim Jong Un called for the country to seize “absolute superiority” in drone technology, state news agency KCNA reported on Oct. 30.

The exhibition, titled “Unmanned Aeronautical Technology Development-2026,” displayed strategic and tactical multipurpose drones, suicide attack drones and other combat systems, KCNA said. Photos showed drones carrying the emblem of the North Korean Air Force, and Kim attended with his daughter, Ju Ae. North Korea did not release specifications for any of the systems on display or say whether the new aircraft has flown.

The most striking new design was a tailless flying-wing aircraft that North Korean state media showed for the first time, NK News reported. Analysts have compared its overall size to the U.S. Navy’s X-47B demonstrator and Russia’s S-70 Okhotnik, both large jet-powered stealth drones built to fly into defended airspace. A flying-wing shape with no vertical tail is used to reduce an aircraft’s radar signature, but photos alone cannot show what engine, sensors or radar-absorbing materials the North Korean drone uses, or whether it is a working aircraft or a mockup.

The exhibition also featured small FPV quadcopters, the cheap camera-guided attack drones that have become a defining weapon of the war in Ukraine, alongside several drone models North Korea has displayed before. In September, state media showed Kim touring production lines for at least three drone types, including a one-way attack drone resembling Israeli loitering munitions and airframes matching the Saetbyol-4 and Saetbyol-9 reconnaissance and strike drones, which resemble the U.S. RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-9 Reaper.

North Korea showcases a range of unmanned aircraft during the 2026 Unmanned Aviation Technology Exhibition. Photo by KNCA

Kim said pursuing drone superiority was “an indispensable option” given the changing nature of modern warfare, and that putting high-level artificial intelligence into unmanned weapons should be a top priority for the country’s military, KCNA reported. He laid out a defense development plan aimed at rapidly expanding North Korea’s unmanned aviation forces, without giving numbers or a timeline.

North Korea showcases a range of unmanned aircraft during the 2026 Unmanned Aviation Technology Exhibition. Photo by KNCA

A firepower demonstration followed, using tactical suicide drones, tactical cruise missiles, multipurpose drones and a battalion of 600 mm multiple rocket launchers, KCNA said. South Korea’s military said North Korea fired around 10 projectiles that day, including short-range ballistic missiles, from the Wonsan area on its east coast.

Targets in the demonstration appeared to represent South Korean and U.S. forces. Strike drones and loitering munitions resembling Russia’s Lancet hit practice targets built to look like South Korean Army guard posts in the Demilitarized Zone, K9 self-propelled howitzers and U.S. Army M1 Abrams tanks, the open-source analysis account Korea Defense Blog said in a post, along with fortified defensive positions and a mockup of a counter-battery radar, the kind used to locate enemy artillery. South Korea’s Yonhap-sourced reports likewise described strikes on mock South Korean forward posts and U.S. ground equipment. The same account noted that South Korea’s forward air defense along the DMZ, including the K30 Biho self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, has limited ability to stop small drones.

Photo by KNCA

North Korea has expanded its drone program since its troops fought alongside Russian forces against Ukraine, and South Korean intelligence has said North Korean units may have received training in Russian drone tactics. Kim oversaw tests of AI-equipped suicide and reconnaissance drones in March 2025 and has repeatedly called for mass production.